I Will Become a Ghost
by Wunsleh
Summary: Naruto is betrayed by the village and leaves the village, forever turning his back on them. Years pass by and a new threat emerges from the dark. Will Naruto be able to face this new enemy and face his demons of the past? (Eventual NaruHina, wont alter plot in any way!)
1. Chapter 1: After everything

A/N: This is my new story, I hope you will all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way…I just wish I did.

Very special thanks to **Bahamut Pure** for betaing this story!

_Thoughts_

**Demon talking**

* * *

><p>~I will become a Ghost Chapter 1~<p>

Naruto was exhausted but happy, knowing he had earned it. After an intense fight which ended with his technique, the mighty Rasengan, he had managed to knock Sasuke out cold.

Sasuke, in return, had tried to kill him with the Chidori. In the end, Naruto won, pouring everything he had into his Rasengan and somehow succeeding.

Shortly after, Kakashi arrived and saw an exhausted blonde sitting on the ground, leaning against a rock. Lying just a couple a feet away from him was an unconscious and bloodied Sasuke.

Naruto turned his head to the newcomer and smiled when he found out it was his old sensei.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! I did it!" the blonde happily shouted despite his cuts and bruises covering his body. Nothing could dampen his spirit.

Kakashi looked at Naruto and smiled. "Good job, Naruto! Now let's get him back to the village; on the way back you can tell me how you managed to defeat him." He then walked over to Sasuke's still form and picked him up. He swung him over his right shoulder and turned to Naruto, who was picking himself up off the ground.

"Man, what a waste…my outfit is ruined. Look at it, it's all tattered." Naruto pouted as he and Kakashi made their way back to the village.

Kakashi gave him the once over and grinned. "It still looks better then it usually does."

Naruto just fake pouted and focused on the road.

.x.x.x.

They arrived at the main gates at the end of the morning the next day. It was around that time that most of the merchants of Konoha were busy preparing their stalls.

They walked past the mass of the merchants and villagers, who began to glare daggers at Naruto as they passed by.

Naruto held his head high and ignored them, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in his heart. Over the course of the years, he had grown to simply ignore them. One day, he would be Hokage and the glares would stop, and they would stop whispering behind his back and instead give a smile, or at least a reassuring nod.

But even now as a Genin there was no change; it was still the same except for the beat-ups. But he still had his friends, and that was what kept him happy. Screw the rest - he knew that Iruka-sensei or the Konoha 11, for example, would stand by him and support him.

And for that he would keep training to get stronger, to protect his precious people.

.x.x.x.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the hospital. Once there, the doctors took Sasuke away to treat his wounds and confine him to a room, as Kakashi and Naruto decided to sit down. Naruto, who wasn't too badly hurt thanks to the fox, dozed off, and Kakashi took out his all-time favorite book, _Icha Icha Paradise_.

After a few hours, they were allowed to visit Sasuke. The silver-haired Jounin woke Naruto up by patting his shoulder as he stood up. "Come on, Naruto, Sasuke's in his room. We can pay him a visit now."

Naruto jerked up with eyes still blurry from sleep. "Huh? Wha? Ramen?" He then saw Kakashi sweatdrop and turn to walk down the hall, nudging with his hand to let the younger ninja know to follow him.

Naruto hastily stood up and quickly followed his sensei.

As they arrived at Sasuke's room, Naruto noticed that there was an ANBU stationed in front of his friend's door.

The ANBU gave a nod, indicating that they were allowed, and they entered Sasuke's room.

As they entered, they saw that Sasuke, despite his many injuries, was peacefully asleep so they sat down in one of the chairs standing across from his bed. Naruto slowly drifted off to sleep again, and when he woke up a couple of hours later, he noticed that Kakashi was gone and instead it was Sakura who was in the seat next to Sasuke's bed.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, how's he doing?" The blonde asked as he stood up and started to stretch his legs.

Sakura was slightly startled by the outburst, not having realized he was awake. She looked at him and scowled. "Well look at him! He's all banged up! How could you do this to him…I asked you to bring him back, not like this! Please just go away…I don't want to see you anymore…ever! Get lost!"

Naruto gaped at her as all the color in his face drained. "W-eha…? So what if he's bruised! He's back - that's what matters!"

Sakura merely pointed at the door in reply, a glare upon her face.

Naruto dropped his head and slumped out the door. As he walked through the hallway, he could still hear Sakura's voice ringing through his head.

"_Get lost!"_

He looked down to his hands, opening and closing them slowly. _Why isn't it ever like…'Great job, Naruto!' _He shook his head and walked out the hospital with his head held high.

.x.x.x.

The next day, Naruto decided to visit Sasuke again. When he opened the door, he saw that his old friend was awake. He burst in the room with a grin on his face.

"Hey, Sasuke! How are you feeling? I'm sorry about your injuries, but you'll be patched up in no time!" said the blonde enthusiastically.

It was then that he noticed Sakura sitting beside the injured Uchiha. His smile faltered a bit. _'Just go away…' _Her words had cut deep…very deep.

Sasuke, who was sitting upright in his bed leaning against the head end of the bed, glared at his former teammate. "Naruto…" He spoke softly with hatred clearly in his voice.

Naruto crossed his arms behind his back as his grin grew wider, clearly missing the venom in the Uchiha's voice. "What's up, buddy?"

Sasuke's anger was now radiating off him, and his eyes slowly turned into crimson adding three tomoe's around each pupil. "Naruto!" he growled before he jumped out of his bed with his fist aimed at the blonde's face.

Naruto saw it coming and quickly jumped backwards. "Sasuke! What are you doing?"

Sasuke screamed angrily and attacked Naruto again. "You ruined everything! I hate you! How the hell am I to get strong enough to kill him? I'LL KILL YOU!"

Naruto stood there, unable to believe what he was hearing.

As the fist was about to slam into his face, it was grabbed by a fingerless glove. Sasuke looked up and saw Kakashi standing beside him, along with the ANBU that had rushed in to see what the commotion was about.

"What do you think you are doing, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked sternly.

Sasuke just looked at him, his eyes slowly reverting back to normal. His shoulder slumped with a low growl. "Why should you care…just leave me alone." And with that, he pulled his arm out of Kakashi's grasp and returned to his bed.

Kakashi nodded towards the ANBU, who turned around and left the room, shutting the door behind him. It was then that Kakashi spoke up. "What the hell has happened to our squad? Why is it always when I turn my back for a single moment that the two of you always end up fighting each other?" He turned his gaze first to Naruto, who looked at his hands with a sad look on his face, and then turned towards Sasuke, who just glared. "We're supposed to be a team…where is the Sasuke and Naruto who could go toe-to-toe with Haku with the teamwork I haven't seen in so long?"

When he was met with nothing but silence, he sighed. "Think about it, because I've already grown sick and tired of the glares and sneers you keep sending each other's way." And with that, he walked over to the window and jumped outside.

Naruto just kept staring at his feet, Sasuke's voice echoing in his head. "_I hate you!"_ He stood up and walked out the room, pondering his thoughts. He couldn't help but think on how downhill everything had got in a matter of days. It had all started with their little fight on the rooftop of the hospital around a week ago.

The blonde jinchuriki walked aimlessly through the streets of Konoha, completely lost in thought. So when he arrived at his apartment, he didn't notice the writings on the wall just outside his front door. He however did notice it inside his apartment.

He looked around with wide eyes in shock, which quickly followed with intense sadness. "Why…" he whispered. His entire room was trashed, his dinner table split in half along with his bed. The door of his refrigerator was torn of his hinges. On the walls were written things like, _"Demon! stay away from the Uchiha!"_ or _"Go back where you came from…Hell!"_

These were just two of the many things that had been written on the walls.

Without looking back, Naruto turned around and out the door. His hands shoved in his pockets he walked towards Ichiraku's ramen stand.

As he passed by a restaurant similar to Ichiraku's, he could hear Kakashi's voice coming from the place.

"I know, Asuma, but I wonder if it isn't best if I'd replace _Naruto_ with someone else, then Sasuke could focus on his training and not on Naruto, who he clearly hates now…with Naruto in the way, he'll only solely focus on him, which isn't the best thing."

"That seems most logical, as long as you don't trade with someone from my team, I don't know how to handle the kid." Asuma replied after which a short silence followed up with a satisfying sigh.

At that moment a third voice spoke up. "I can't believe what I'm hearing…how could you say such a thing about Naruto? He has good intentions; you can't simply replace him like a piece of clothing!"

Kakashi sighed. "You don't know him that well, Kurenai, he's a pain in the ass and sometimes I wish I never had taken him on as a student. He constantly screws up, he never thinks, and it's often at the cost of us."

Naruto looked down at his hands, tears threatening to course down his cheek. _'Why…Kakashi-Sensei not you too…' _ He had lost his appetite, and instead walked towards the Hokage monument.

As he sat upon the Fourth Hokage's head, he felt hopeless. In one day, he had lost his friendship with Kakashi,Sakura, and Sasuke, not to mention Asuma, who he had respected quite a lot. His friendship with his teammates he valued most, as he lived for their attention and respect.

When evening began to fall, he headed back for his apartment; however, before he got far a Chuunin made his way towards the blonde with the message that he had to report to the Hokage immediately.

So he headed for the only person who he knew wouldn't turn his back on him. When he knocked on the door, he opened it. He could see the Council standing inside with rather smug looks on their faces.

What's up, baa-chan? Naruto asked with a grin, trying to hide behind his sadness behind the usual happy mask.

Tsunade sighed heavily before looking into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto…" she began, trying her best not to lose control of her emotions. "Because of your recent loss of control of your chakra, you are a potential liability. Tomorrow there will be a seal placed upon you, forever blocking your chakra pathways so that you can no longer lose control. Only your vital organs will still have chakra control. From tomorrow on…you will no longer be a shinobi. I am so sorry Naruto…"

All of this was said in a strained voice.

Naruto just stood there with wide eyes. "I did not lose control of my chakra during my fight against Sasuke! I was in full control the entire fight!"

The old man Homura decided to join in. "Sasuke Uchiha begs to differ, boy. He says he saw red chakra form around your body, and he also saw a red chakra tail. This seems to me that you _did_ lose control, and therefore have become a liability." He inwardly smirked.

"I didn't! The kyuubi didn't gain control!" Naruto cried out in anger and frustration.

"The decision is final. You will report to the Hokage tomorrow, one in the afternoon." Koharu Utatane butted in.

Naruto desperately turned to the Hokage. "Baa-chan…" he pleaded.

Tsunade looked in his eyes as her head leaned on her intertwined fingers. _'I'm so sorry Naruto…my hands are tied. I tried everything'. _"There's nothing I can do. They've overruled me. I am sorry, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes turned red, and his pupils narrowed into slits. "So this is how you all repay me, huh? After everything I did for this village, you just stab me in the back with the usual smirk on your face?"

And with that he turned around, leaving the frightened Council in his wake.

After ten minutes of walking, he reached his apartment and went in. Inside, he grabbed a bag and started filling it with clothing. He reached for his closet and pulled it open, reaching for a small box on the bottom and opening it. The box was filled with kunai and shuriken. Satisfied, he closed the box and placed it in his bag. He then reached for something underneath his bed and pulled out a small money pouch, which he also packed.

After five more minutes of bag-packing, he swung the pack over his shoulder and reached for a piece of paper. After scribbling down a few words, he stuck it in the wall with a kunai and headed out the door.

"So they think I'm a liability, huh? They never want to see me again…well, that can easily be arranged," the blonde whispered to himself as he pulled his headband from his head. He grasped a kunai from his pouch and placed it on the headband.

And with one swift motion, he slashed through the Leaf symbol and threw it on the ground.

Before leaving, he looked once more around the room and noticed the scratched headband that belonged to Sasuke. He picked it up and looked at it for a moment before putting it in his pouch that he was carrying on his right leg. He glanced one more time towards his note and smirked at what he had written.

_Your liability is gone…forever. Do not try to send tracker ninja after me, or they will come back in pieces. I hope you will all rot in hell._

_-Naruto Uzumaki_

And with that, he headed out the door and down onto the streets, towards the main gate. To his surprise, the gates were open and the guards at the check-in were busy handling some foreigners. So he sneaked past them and dashed towards the forest, quickly hiding behind a tree when he reached the forest.

After he was sure that no one had seen him, he moved further into the forest, forever turning his back on the Leaf.

.x.x.x.

Chapter 1 completed!

I know it was a bit rushed but I will work on it on the next chapter!

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my new story. If you got any questions regarding this chapter feel free to send a message!


	2. Chapter 2: New beginnings

Anonymous reviewers:

To Kevin: My other story lacks a beta-reader at the moment, I think I'll add the next chapter unbeta'ed (or however the hell it's supposed to be spelled :P)

To Kj: I got something good in store for them;) you'll like it no doubt!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto, I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes:D

Very very very super special thanks for **Bahamut pure** for betaing this story, you rock!

_Thoughts_

**Demon talking**

_"Flashback" (_noticable)

* * *

><p><strong>I Will Become A Ghost Chapter Two<strong>

Three months had passed since Naruto's abrupt departure from the village, and so far he hadn't encountered any retrieval squads or hunter-nin. Perhaps the squads they did send weren't even trying to find him, and why should they...in the eyes of the villagers and council, he was the demon they wanted to get rid of. And Naruto no longer cared about them; if they did cross his path, he would kill them without a second thought.

As he wandered through the village in the Land of Waves with his arms behind his head, he couldn't help but feel satisfied. Everyone was friendly towards him and accepted him with open arms, with the promise that they would keep his appearance a secret. He had also improved greatly over the past three months. His taijutsu had gotten better, and he could now form a Rasengan without the help of a Kage Bunshin.

Almost directly on arrival, he had dumped his orange jumpsuit and bought a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with matching pants. He had a pouch on his right leg which carried his kunai and shuriken. He also wore a shoulder strap that went from his right shoulder to his left side. This strap, too, was filled with kunai.

Also during his time he had met up with Tazuna and his family, who were more than willing to provide him with a spare room with the promise that he could stay as long as he wanted to.

Every day he trained himself to the limit with a tight schedule. On Monday, he would train in taijutsu.

On Tuesday, he would practice chakra control, which admittedly needed the most work. He worked around this by climbing up and down the trees with his chakra, or by walking on water.

On Wednesday, he would start on his sword skills, which were, to put it simply, terrible.

On Thursday, he would help Tsunami around the house, gather groceries. If she had everything under control, then he would help Tazuna with his work, which now amounted to the construction of new buildings in the rapidly growing village.

And on Friday, he would train with genjutsu, which was as awful as a cup of ramen that was past its expiring date.

Saturday and Sunday were wasted on relaxing and sparring with Inari.

.x.x.x.

Naruto closed the door behind him as he entered Tazuna's home. He was greeted by a happy Inari, who high-fived him. As Naruto sat down at the table, he was quickly greeted by Tsunami, who placed a bowl of noodles in front of him.

"Arigato, Tsunami-san!" And with that the blonde chowed down, happily slurping the noodles.

After about ten minutes, Tazuna arrived home, and was served with a plate of sushi rolls. After giving Tsunami his thanks, he began to eat with Inari sitting beside him as well as Tsunami across from him, next to Naruto. They ate while talking about their day.

Naruto was, as usual, savagely attacking his noodles and oblivious to the disgusted look Tazuna gave him and the chuckle Tsunami let out.

.x.x.x.

_One month later, Wednesday._

A group of Kage Bunshin were climbing up and down the trees with only their feet and chakra, just outside the village.

The real Naruto was about halfway up when his concentration was broken by a sudden explosion. He fell and landed on his back.

"Ugh! What the..." He suddenly jerked up and looked towards the direction of the sound. He dispelled his Kage Bunshin and sprinted towards the smoke that was rapidly rising into the air.

He quickly jumped from roof to roof, escaping the panicked, fleeing mass of people below. He looked down to see a little girl covering her head as a large group of people were closing in on her crouched position fast, like a stampeding horde. Naruto jumped from the roof and landed in front of her. In one quick motion, he picked her up bridal style and jumped to the side of the streets where a young couple were hiding. He put the girl down and told the couple to watch over her until her parents were found. And with that, he sprinted in the opposite direction of the fleeing villagers.

After he rounded a corner, he came to a skidding halt as he saw two of his kind standing on the road that led to the exit of the village. Around them were the few guards the village managed to hire lying unconscious or dead on the ground. He couldn't tell.

Naruto jumped from the roof he was standing on and landed a couple of feet away from them, his arms crossed with a serious look on his face. "What do you want?"

One of the nuke-nin smirked from behind a pair of sunglasses and looked at the boy. "None of your business, kid, now..." He stopped mid-sentence when his partner whispered something in his ear. He widened his eyes in surprise before smiling.

In return, Naruto just stared. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nine-Tailed Fox..." one of them whispered, and with that, they both dashed towards the blonde.

Naruto formed his trademark hand seal for his Kage Bunshin, which was quickly followed by its name, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

At his side were five Bunshin who immediately engaged in a taijutsu fight with the missing-nin.

The two missing-nin were obviously exceptional in their teamwork, as they easily disposed of the Bunshin, all the while managing to cover each other's backs.

Meanwhile, Naruto held his hand up and formed a Rasengan. Once it was done, he leapt into the fray. He ducked underneath a punch and sidestepped a kunai, then charged the missing-nin who was wearing sunglasses and slammed his Rasengan in his stomach. As he flew away, Naruto engaged the other in a taijutsu fight that was wearing him out. Slowly but surely as time passed on it became abundantly clear that his opponent was a lot better than his companion was.

Naruto groaned as he blocked the incoming fist with his bruised wrist. The blonde back flipped onto a roof, with his foe following close behind. The former Leaf shinobi threw yet another of his few remaining shuriken, which the missing-nin narrowly ducked in midair. He closed in on Naruto and rammed his shoulder into the blonde, knocking them both off the roof and onto the street behind.

Naruto flipped in the air and used his hands when he hit the ground to backflip onto his feet, unknowingly dodging a kunai that was incoming. His senses told him that someone was behind him so he dove out of the way, grabbing a kunai in his flight and threw it at his opponent behind him.

His opponent blocked it with a kunai in his hand and charged Naruto with his weapon. Naruto blocked his attacker with the best of his abilities but his muscles were aching from the constant bashing. He kicked the missing-nin's legs from underneath him and made a stabbing motion to the chest, only to find it pushed away. Grunting under his breath he jumped back and threw his kunai, quickly following by preparing a Rasengan.

Once the Rasengan was ready, Naruto sprinted towards his foe that was finishing off the last Bunshin. He saw Naruto closing in fast and half-panicked, knowing how strong the orb in his hand was. He barely dodged the Rasengan; he, however, never saw the next attack coming.

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!" Naruto burst from beneath the former shinobi, grabbing him by the ankles and pulled him down. Once his head was all that remained above the ground Naruto stood in front of him. He grasped a kunai from his pouch and swung it down on his opponents head ignoring the man's pleas. There was a disgusting cracking sound as the man was killed upon impact of the kunai. Naruto looked at the man with a mix of emotion.

The handle of the kunai was sticking out on top of the man's head. He had never had to kill anyone before, but he couldn't have let the man live. He then staggered over to other missing-nin, who was unconscious, only to see someone standing in front of the man looking towards Naruto.

Naruto glanced towards the cloak and paled at the sight. He then looked at the person's face. "Itachi Uchiha..." he whispered, and his whisker marks turned darker, his eyes blood red with slits.

Itachi just stood there, void of emotion. "Naruto Uzumaki...you have improved greatly since our last encounter.

Naruto sneered and already reached for his pouch. "You want me to show it to you?" He instantly grabbed a shuriken and threw it, only for it to pass right through Itachi.

"Genjutsu...but when?"

"From the moment you looked in my eyes when you first saw me. But do not be frightened, I am only here to talk." he said as he dropped the Genjutsu

"Talk? What's there to talk about! You're from the Akatsuki! You're here to capture me!"

Itachi slowly walked towards the blonde, who in return tensed up. "That's where you're wrong; the rest of the organization doesn't know I'm here. Not even Kisame."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Yeah? Well, what do you have to tell me that's so important?"

Itachi stared at him. "In a few years from now, an unknown group will travel to the elemental countries. They will without a doubt try to destroy the shinobi world. The two you have just killed were mere scouts, most likely to evaluate the strength of the shinobi."

Naruto frowned. "Who are they? And how are you so sure they intend to kill us all?"

"Every location they have visited so far has been completely annihilated. As for _who_ they are, I have no idea. And to answer your next question, I have met someone who has told me this, and yes, he is reliable.

Naruto thought for a moment about what Itachi had said. "Why are you telling me this, and why should I believe you?"

"That's because you have the potential to become incredible strong, Naruto. I have no doubt you will play a big role in what is to come, whether you like it or not. And to answer your second question, it's fairly simple...why should I lie? What is there to gain if I lied? If you follow up on my advice and prepare yourself for the upcoming fight, then you would become a threat to the Akatsuki, so it would make things even harder for us to capture you. I would get no profit from it." Itachi said, before turning around. He grabbed the unconscious man and threw him at Naruto's feet.

Naruto crouched down, knowing the Uchiha made a good point. What would he gain from it? He then pressed his fingers to search for a pulse which he couldn't find. "You killed him?" he asked.

Itachi slowly shook his head "No...your Rasengan did that. It shut down his major organs leading to his agonizing death."

Naruto looked at the man's face with a look of sadness clearly visible on his face. In one day time he had killed two men; he felt sick to his stomach. _How can anyone live with this?_

Itachi noticed. "First time you've killed anyone?"

Naruto nodded as he balled his hands into a fist. "Never thought it would be this hard..."

Itachi just stood there, emotionless. "It takes time, but it will never fade away. You'll eventually learn to cope with it. One last thing...these scouts are most likely the weakest of them all...however...do not, under any circumstances, underestimate them."

Naruto smirked. "I guess I just have to get stronger then. But don't think you or any of the Akatsuki is off the hook yet."

If Naruto didn't know better he swore he could've seen Itachi smile. "Likewise, Uzumaki...one more thing: you won't gain the strength you seek here. Break your bonds with this village; it will only slow you down. You must think like one of them, act like one of them, become one of them. Become the monster they all feared you as."

Naruto stood there with wide eyes. "I...I don't know if I can do that; you know what you're asking of me? To give up my humanity!"

"It is necessary; this is why we of the Akatsuki are so feared. Leave behind your name, make a new one, and once you're strong enough, take on the unknowns."

And with those words, Itachi disappeared in a swirl of dust, leaving behind a stunned Naruto.

He looked down towards the lifeless body and noticed a strange tattoo on the back of the man's neck. He grabbed the remains of his shirt and pulled it off, revealing the tattoo. The tattoo was of a skull with strange markings around it that led to his lower back.

Naruto frowned and touched the tattoo with his fingertips, quickly retracting them after receiving images of death and torture. He grasped the side of his head as the images flashed through his head bringing along with it a stabbing pain to his eyes.

Darkness consumed the boy as he passed out, falling beside the body unconscious but before he allowed darkness to consume him, he threw one last glance towards the tattoo. Satisfied, he let darkness overcome him.

After about ten minutes of silence, a few brave villagers decided to look who had come out alive. And for a moment they had thought that Naruto had died when they saw his still form. But they sighed in relief as one felt a pulse. They quickly carried the boy to the newly constructed hospital.

They administered the boy immediately and later stated that he was in an unconscious state. The doctors didn't know when the boy would wake up.

.x.x.x.

_1 week later; Naruto's mindscape._

"_**Brat! What have you done!"**_ the Kyuubi roared at the blonde as he tried claw his way through the gate.

Naruto was stupefied. "How the hell should I know that I would pass out if I touched the tattoo, you stinking fox? All I did was touch it and..."

"_**Exactly! Do you touch everything you see?"**_

"What's it you, anyway? I got knocked out that's all," the blonde replied.

The eyes of the Kyuubi glowed red._**"That is where you are wrong! Thanks to you, my chakra is slowly draining away...it's going too fast to regenerate, but too slow to kill me immediately. Something is draining me of power and it has something to do with that tattoo."**_

Naruto stood mere feet away from the gate. "You're dying?" he said with a mix of emotion. On one hand, he was happy that the bastard would die; finally he would be rid of the one who had caused him great pain throughout his life! But on the other hand, he was sad; the fox had become a part of him that had saved his life on multiple occasions.

"_**I am but it will take some time, so don't go sentimental on me yet, brat, you should be happy that I will be gone."**_the Kyuubi said, noticing the blonde's distraught look on his face

Naruto nodded. He could slowly feel the pressure fading away indicating that he was gaining consciousness. "I'm sorry, Kyuubi...for what it's worth, you may have been the whole reason of my loneliness, but you weren't always a pain in the ass."

The demon growled at his statement, but inwardly smirked.

.x.x.x.

Naruto coughed as he slowly opened his eyes, then winced at the bright lights and shut them again immediately. He could hear voices around him and held his hands in front of his eyes to block the lights as he opened them again.

"Naruto-niisan!" a voice shouted that clearly belonged to Inari.

"About damn time, kid," a gruff male voice spoke.

Naruto nodded as he slowly replied with a rough voice, "Can it, old geezer."

"I'll get the doctor." a female voice softly spoke, and knowing it was Tsunami he smiled. He heard soft footsteps to his left.

"So anything important happened while I was out?" he asked.

"We managed to rebuild the gate they destroyed, along with some of the buildings, but most of it was superficial. As for the wounded and the dead, there were nine severely wounded that are still in critical condition. As for the dead...they killed twelve guards that were stationed at the main gate. No civilian casualties." Tazuna informed him.

Naruto grimaced when he heard how many had died, but was relieved at the fact that no civilians had been among them.

Tazuna noticed the grimace. "You did great, kid; if you hadn't stopped them, they would have killed a lot more."

Naruto silently nodded as his mind still plagued him about the death of the guards as well as his first two kills he had ever made. _He grasped a kunai from his pouch and swung it down on his opponents head ignoring the man's pleas. There was a disgusting cracking sound...the handle of the kunai was sticking out on top of the man's head..._

He snapped out of his reverie when a female doctor entered the room, followed by Tsunami. "Ah, good to see you're awake, Uzumaki-kun. How are you feeling?" the female doctor asked.

Naruto flexed one of his arms, still feeling a bit sore. "I'm just a bit sore; nothing too bad. So you can discharge me right away, no need for me to stay here!" he said, with his usual grin on his face, while he was in fact feeling like crap.

The doctor laughed, "You sure act like it, but your body may disapprove. So let me check you out, and from that we'll decide whether or not we can release you from our care."

Naruto nodded and stood from his bed, realizing he was only wearing shorts and a shirt. The doctor stood before him, asking him to pull his shirt up after which she started checking his vital signs by placing her hand on his chest with chakra slowly emitting from it.

"Alright, I've noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Your body is stressed, though, so I strongly advise you to take it easy for at least a week. We'd like to keep you just here for the night. If everything goes well, we'll discharge you tomorrow. That's the least we can do for you after you saved our village...again." the doctor said as she wrote something on his pad and nodded.

Naruto pulled his shirt back down. "Arigato!" He shook the doctor's hand and laid back down on his bed. The doctor shook the Tazuna and Tsunami's hand as well and smiled at Inari before taking his leave. As soon as the doctor was gone the blonde talked to his second family, telling them about the two missing-nin and his fight, though left out the threat that was coming. It would only serve to make things worse.

.x.x.x.

The next day, after Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari arrived, Naruto got up and went to the closet and changing curtains in the opposite corner of the room. The clothes he was wearing were beginning to smell.

"It's so good to see you're feeling good again, Naruto-kun. If you're feeling well enough, we should head back home as soon as possible...get you something good to eat, this hospital food just can't be good for the patients here." Tsunami chuckled as he appeared from behind the curtains he had used from some privacy with a grin on his face wearing his dark blue outfit.

"Let's get going." the blonde boy said, faking his cheerful voice.

The group walked out the room heading for the nurse's post to check out.

They arrived at the house halfway in the afternoon. It had taken awhile to get there because of all the people who wanted to thank Naruto for saving the village. Naruto smiled, shook hands, and talked with the villagers as they tried to push themselves through the crowd. It had taken some time but after what looked like would be forever, they finally managed to get home.

Naruto went to his room right away, skipping lunch and leaving a concerned Tsunami and Tazuna in its wake.

He said on the edge of his bed and closed his eyes. Itachi's words were still ringing in his mind. _"You have the potential to become incredible strong..."_

He flew his fingers through his hair. _"What do I do? I have to choose in what my heart wants and my responsibility."_

Tsunami knocked on the door. "Naruto, are you decent?"

"Yeah, come on in." he said as he laid down on his back.

She opened the door and looked at him with concerned eyes. "Are you feeling OK? You never go upstairs without having lunch. We practically have to drag you away from the kitchen when you smell the food."

Naruto sat back up and gave her a sincere smile. "I guess I'm just not feeling that great yet. I'll take it easy for at least today; I'll most likely feel as good as new after a good night's rest."

Tsunami's concerned gaze almost made him waver but he managed to stay focused.

"Alright, Naruto-kun, if you're sure that that's all, I'll leave you to rest then."

She walked over and hugged him which was followed by a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for saving our village. No matter how your village has treated you, this can be your home...if you wish it to be."

Naruto felt his emotion get the better of him. "I...I'd like that."

Tsunami smiled and stood up and ruffled his hair. She turned around, heading back out the room, picking up the basket that was filled with clothing that needed to be hanged out to dry.

Naruto looked at her retreating back, before he placed his head in his hands. _Argh! This is killing me! I have to leave as soon as possible, no doubt those unknowns will send new scouts to track down those other two. I have to lead them away from here._

Naruto stood up and walked back downstairs. "Hey, old geezer! I'm getting some fresh air, will be back later." he shouted towards Tazuna as he opened the front door. He was glad that Inari wasn't here because if he was, it would complicate things.

He closed the door behind him after dodging the apple that was aimed for his head for calling Tazuna old. Naruto smiled. Once this was all over he could see himself settling down here. _Yeah, I definitely could._

* * *

><p>Jutsu translation:<p>

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow clone jutsu

Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu – Earth style: Headhunter jutsu

And that's numbah 2! I hope you enjoyed it! Also for anyone who prefers time skips...Well you just have to be patient because we have to know what Naruto will be planning to do. Also...Who the hell were those two? And what group is Itachi talking about? Got any thoughts?

Ah and the Kyuubi part...I know I know but he won't die right away...but it's all part of the story which I'm certain most of you will like a lot with what I'm about to plan. And as for Itachi...WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?

Yeah...I know a lot of you Naruto fans love Itachi I just can't leave him out, can I?

Any questions? Lay em on me! Though I won't spoil anything!

If you like the story...Press the review button and tell me what ya think. It brightens every writer's day here on the site!


	3. Chapter 3: Ramen Depression

A/N: Sorry it took a while but here it finally is!

Anonymous reviewers:

To Dragon: Longer than expected but here ya go!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto, I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes:D

Very very very super special thanks for Bahamut pure for betaing this story, you rock!

_Thoughts_

Demon talking

_"Flashback" (_noticable)

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

Naruto pushed the flaps aside of the ramen stand that was located on the market. Trade had been Wave's main income of money and because of it, their land had grown exponentially.

He walked towards hospital where they kept the bodies of the recently deceased, then once there, over to the front desk to be greeted by a cheerful woman who handled all newcomers. "Well, well, well! If it isn't the newest member of our small village! How are you, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto waved his hand. "Please, it's Naruto. No need to be that formal, I'm still just a kid. Uhm...as for the reason I'm back so soon...if i could visit the morgue, I want to see the bodies of the two attackers."

The woman frowned at his request." This is an unusual request, Naruto-kun. But you did save our village, so I don't think anyone will mind. I'll call ahead to tell them that you're coming."

"Arigato!" And after receiving instructions how to get there, he headed down the hallway.

He had created a bunshin in a henge to scout the outside of the hospital for an alternative entrance and found one. It was an emergency exit at the back of the hospital where a park was located for the terminally ill to have some fresh air despite everything.

After he knew where the morgue was, he started out with a couple unimportant questions and eventually worked up to ask about the bodies. The coroner in charge walked to the drawers and opened two of them. Naruto got the info he wanted and looked at the face of the one he had killed. He shut his eyes tightly as memories plagued his mind of him slamming his Rasengan into the man's abdomen.

"You okay, Uzumaki-san?" the coroner asked.

Naruto nodded and turned to him. "I'm fine! Thanks for the information." And with that, he exited the morgue.

Now that he knew how to gain entrance without having to sneak through the entire hospital, he went back home.

He closed the door behind him and high-fived Inari as a greeting. "What's up, Naruto-niisan?"

Naruto shrugged. "Just strolling around town, getting some ramen...you know the usual. You?

"Same, same." Inari grinned.

Naruto ruffled his hair and walked past him. "I'm taking a nap, talk to you later." He went up the stairs and into his room. _'Tonight is the night I leave. Kind of ironic, if you think about it. I left Konoha over 3 months ago…and now I'm leaving my second home. Can't everything just work out for once?'_

He discreetly packed his stuff; he couldn't let Tazuna and his family know. They would only try to make him stay, which he didn't have time for. After he had packed a couple extra sets of clothes and all his kunai and shuriken, he shoved his bag pack under his bed and walked downstairs for dinner.

Naruto silently ate his meal, which consisted of Katsudon and a bowl of rice. Tazuna, as expected, picked up on his lack of enthusiasm. "You okay, kid? You are awfully quiet today."

Naruto looked up and waved one of his hands dismissively. "Yeah…I still feel a bit weakened from the fight, hopefully I'll be up and running in no time."

Tazuna's eyes scanned him over and nodded. "Alright, I'll stop bugging you. But if you ever have to urge to talk…go to Tsunami, because I don't know how to handle that touchy stuff." He chuckled as he took a sip from his drink.

Naruto laughed and he couldn't help but wonder if this is what it felt like to have a family. "Ah, but, old geezer! Who's going to rock me to sleep tonight if you won't do it?"

Tazuna grinned and Tsunami laughed, Inari had trouble swallowing his food at the thought of Naruto being rocked to sleep. "Yeah and when are you going to give him a bedtime story huh?" Inari butted in after he managed to speak, grinning like crazy.

Naruto chuckled. "No worries there, Inari. I'll let you keep that, I don't want to hear him singing again…EVER, heard that enough when he chucked down his bottle of sake."

Tazuna whose face turned red stood up. "Alright! Enough with the jokes! Last time I ever offer you brats a shoulder to cry on." Grumbling the last part.

"Who said I was joking about your singing talents, old geezer?" Naruto crossed his arms behind his head with a smile that went from ear to ear.

Tazuna sputtered, "Wha? You mean you were awake when I got home drunk two weeks ago? Never again singing in the shower from now on!"

"Nope, just wanted to know if you were indeed a singing old geezer." Naruto said still grinning like there was no tomorrow.

Tsunami couldn't contain herself anymore and laughed out loud as tears of joy appeared in her eyes.

"Damn you…brat," said Tazuna, who, despite the mocking, could still see the humor in it as his eyes twinkled of amusement.

Inari high-fived Naruto. "Nice going!"

After dinner Naruto relaxed on the couch and watched Inari and Tazuna argue about his bedtime, with Inari clearly losing. He stood up and stretched, suppressing a yawn, walked to the front door and stepped outside.

He looked up at the night sky and smiled, then pumped his fist in the air. "I'll do whatever it takes! Dattebayo!" and with that he went back inside.

He looked towards Tsunami, who was reading a book. "I'm going to bed, see ya in the morning!" _Yeah, right…_

Tsunami looked up and gave a loving smile, "Goodnight, Naruto-kun."

Tazuna nodded and slapped Inari upside the head. "You too, Inari!"

Naruto and Inari both went upstairs. "Seeya, Inari!"

And with that, the blonde entered his room.

Naruto changed into his nightwear and went to bed. He couldn't risk sleeping. The chance that he slept through the entire night was too big. And setting an alarm could possibly wake up the rest of the house.

So he had to endure the torture of staying awake. He sighed. _This is going to be a long night…_

.x.x.x.

4 hours later, 02:00 AM 

Naruto rubbed his eyes for what felt like the millionth time since he went to bed. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. _It's time to leave._

He silently got out of his bed and grabbed the outfit he had prepared before going to bed. It consisted of wide black pants and a form-fitting short-sleeved shirt.

After dressing, he grabbed the bag hidden under his bed and swung it over his shoulder. He silently opened the door, hoping that the creaking sounds of his door wouldn't wake anyone up.

He closed the door behind him without a sound and walked down the stairs skipping one or two steps.

Once downstairs he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk in the corner. He wrote something on it and put it on the dinner table. Before leaving he glanced at the paper and smiled.

Dear Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari,

I'm very sorry that you have to find out this way. I left Wave to get stronger, I can't gain the power I need if I stay here, it will only slow me down. But the two men who attacked the village weren't the only ones out there. I'm going to make sure that no one else is going to attack this village again. I wish you guys and the rest of Wave all the best and who knows, maybe I'll be back once I'm done with my mission.

-Naruto-

Ps: Dattebayo!

He walked out the front door and headed for the morgue to pick up the bodies.

Luck was on his side, there wasn't anyone on the streets except for a drunken old man who was lying in a corner, unconscious. He walked past the unconscious man and glanced to the right to see the ramen stand._ And there's another downside…after leaving Konoha and Ichiraku's ramen, I found a decent replacement here in Wave. And now I have to leave yet again. Next village I get to, instant ramen in a cup for me._

He walked around the hospital towards the back entrance of the morgue. Unfortunately, the entrance was locked. _Hmmm…what to do, what to do._

He held his hand up and created a Rasengan. But instead of completely destroying the door, he burned away a hole in it, softly pushing the jutsu through instead of the usual slamming.

He crawled through the hole, wincing as the back of his hand got scorched by the intense heat of molten metal as he brushed against it.

He stood up again and walked to the drawers. The sound of his footsteps cut through the silence.

He opened the two drawers and saw the two deceased men he had killed not too long ago.

_Alright! Now how do I take these bodies with me…?_ He sweatdropped at the thought.

An idea popped up. He formed a hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two clones popped out of the smoke and immediately ran over to grab the bodies.

"Let's move out." the real Naruto softly said, at which the two clones nodded. Instead of crawling again, they opened the door and exited the building.

Naruto and the two clones arrived at the exit of the village. He turned around and gave a sad smile. _It's for the best… _He abruptly turned around and exited the village, with his two clones closely following him, heading deep into the forest to destroy the bodies.

.x.x.x.

3 months later

Naruto ran with his head held low.

He jumped over a fallen tree, grabbing two kunai with exploding tags attached, throwing it towards his pursuers. The thirteen-year-old blonde could see the end of a low cliff coming up. He looked to the left and right, but the cliff reached far. With no other option left, he jumped. In his free fall, he once again reached for his pouch and grabbed an exploding tag. He landed in a bush, breaking his fall.

In one swift motion, he rolled out of the bush and onto his feet, as well as placing the exploding tag on the ground.

Naruto resumed his dash, placing as many trees as possible between his retreating back and his pursuers. _This is ridiculous! They've been hunting me for three days. Don't they need to rest? The only reason I haven't dropped from exhaustion is because of my stamina and the Kyuubi._

The exploding tag burst, andthat was the sign to know that they had just passed his tag. He knew that the tags wouldn't kill them, he had already used most of his exploding tags and it didn't work then.

Naruto winced and he looked over his shoulder and saw a large fireball coming his way. The blonde barely managed to dive out of the way, scorching the sleeves of his shirt.

"Uzumaki Naruto, stop running and fight us." A calm voice cut through the air.

"Screw you!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder as he scrambled himself back up to his feet to resume his flight.

He jumped over a medium-sized rock and onto one of the higher tree branches. He dashed from tree to tree, rapidly increasing his speed. He reached into his bag and counted how many kunai and shuriken he had left. _8 kunai, 4 shuriken…and 6 exploding tags. And I'm also down on my last smoke bomb...argh! I almost wish I had ignored Itachi's words…_

"It's foolish, boy. Give up already; this running of yours only delays the inevitable." a different voice said.

The blonde ignored and continued deeper into the forest hoping to lose them in the swamp.

Dodging the large fireball, he tried to increase his speed even more, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side.

"You can't keep running from us, boy," the cold voice said,

"You thought you could get away with killing our comrades?" the second voice spoke.

Fear coursed through the boy's body as he threw his last smoke bomb and jumped down at the bank of a small river he silently made his way through the river and hid behind a rock that stuck out in the middle of the river, his heart pounding in his chest.

A cold voice whispered in his ear. "We found you, Uzumaki Naruto…"

Everything exploded.

All Naruto could do was block his arms just in time before the explosion engulfed him.

The two dark figures landed at the river bank, looking at his hiding spot.

As the smoke cleared a man completely dressed in a black robe stood on the rock, with Naruto lying unconscious beside him. The black robe of the man consisted of metal vambraces attached to his sleeves. He had a dark red sash around his waist and hood covering his face.

"It's him, what do we do?" one of the two unknowns asked.

"We have to retreat and inform the rest of his appearance."

"Understood." As soon as this was said, black flames erupted around them and swirled around them as they disappeared.

The man dressed in black robes picked the boy from the ground and disappeared into nothingness.

.x.x.x.

A few hours later, local village in the Bird Country

Naruto groggily opened his eyes. He looked around the small room he was residing in and couldn't help but be surprised. _How the hell did I survive…last thing I remember is the exploding tags they threw my way, even if I survived the blast, they should've been able to kill me easily…I was out cold!_

He placed his feet on the ground and stood up. He looked down to his clothing and noticed he was wearing a white shirt with black knee-length pants. Apparently someone had changed him while he was out.

He walked to the door and opened it. He peered into the hallway and cautiously walked down the hall. He then silently went down the stairs and ended in what looked like a living room.

"About time you woke up." a male voice said.

Naruto looked towards the direction of where the voice came from. He saw a man with ruffled hair. And green eyes. His eyes were cold but had a twinkle of happiness in it. He glanced towards the man's arms and saw that the left one was littered with scars. His right was unscathed except for a few minor marks. "Who are you? Are you the one who saved me?"

The man, who was reading his morning and sipping from what looked like coffee, nodded. "My name is Hawke, and yes, I'm the one who saved you. Those two who were after you were hunting you for quite some time now. Until four days ago, that is, when they found you at Tsyuaka Village. But then again…you did kill two of their comrades."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "You know who they are?"

The man folded his paper and stood up. "Well, of course I know, I've been tracking them for quite some time now. I'm also the one who supplied Itachi Uchiha with information about our friends, who in turn told you."

Naruto's eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "You're the one Itachi talked about!"

The man nodded, "Yes. I've been tracking them from a land across the sea. That land used to be a peaceful place where disputes with other countries were rarely solved through military action. Peaceful negotiations took place. The country had a worthy army, but as I said, it was rarely used. Though...when they came, it all changed. They never stood a chance. A country as big as, for example, the Land of Wind with everyone in it was wiped of the charts in a matter of weeks. Men, women, and children were all slaughtered."

"And now they have come for us…" the blonde boy whispered as he stared at his feet.

At this, Hawke shook his head, "Not yet, the ones we have encountered so far are mere scouts. They are most likely here to gain information about the locations of the hidden villages as well as their military strength, and to find a possible Tear."

"Tear?"

"Yes,Tear, or more accurately a Chakra Tear. A Chakra Tear appears when enormous amounts of Chakra is being used. These Tears aren't visible to the naked eye, only to people who train their eyes with a certain technique will be able to see."

Naruto took it all in. "What's so special about these Chakra Tears?"

Hawke smiled. "A Chakra Tear allows demons to be summoned into our world."

"W-Wha?" a wide-eyed Naruto gaped.

"You heard me. They literally suck demons from who-knows-where, but it doesn't stop there. They merge their bodies with those demons to become immensely strong. How they do it is still unknown."

"Then we have to stop them!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Hawke nodded. "As I said before, it will take quite some time before they actually arrive, so during that time we'll have to get you stronger, strong enough to go toe to toe with the Unknowns."

Naruto grinned. "Alright then let's do it!"

Hawke nodded. "One more thing…"

"Sure, anything."

"Stop that shouting, it's making my ears bleed."

Naruto sweat dropped and inwardly cursed the man.

.x.x.x.

There's chapter three! It's a bit short, but I thought it was the right time to end the chapter.

Hawke is going to be a character who will appear frequently. Some may have noticed that his name is one and the same of the main protagonist from _Dragon Age 2_. And yes I've taken the character to borrow for a while. His outfit is very similar to those the assassins wear in _Assassin's Creed_ except that the color I've chosen is black.

I hope you all enjoyed it. Any questions? Lay 'em on me!

I won't beg for reviews with pretty please, though we all love em here on fanfiction!

Next chapter is going to be awesome!


	4. Chapter 4: A Hike

Edit: sorry for the multiple updates, apparently Fanfiction doesnt save Bold Text when uploaded so i had to edit on the go.

I am verry sorry about the long delay, but here it is! Chapter 4.

Anonymous Reviewers:

To Trigun: Don't worry about that, i have something good planned for them *evil grin* as for Naruto hooking up with Hinata, i haven't decided yet.

and Konoha's background story will be added in the story but it will be later and detailed so it will probably take multiple chapters to write. I'll genuinly add it over the course of the story.

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto, I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

Very special thanks to FantomoDrako for Betaing this story, I couldn't have done it without him!

_'Thoughts'_

**Demonic voice**

_"Flashback"_

* * *

><p><strong>I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 4 <strong>

7 Years Later

Flashes and explosions erupted two miles away from a small village in the Rain country. Once the flashes died down a thick layer of smoke surrounded the area. A man dressed in blue robes with attached plating on his wrists and legs was breathing heavily as blood dripped from his hands.

A second man stood nearby completely dressed in black robes with a metal vambrace on the sleeve of his right wrist. His left hand however, was covered by something black and gruesome. His face was hidden by a black hood and only a part of his face was visible, the rest covered with a facemask. Around his waist was a red sash.

The bleeding man looked at the red sash and his eyes widened in fear. "You! What do you want from us? From me?"

The man in black tilted his head almost unnoticeably. **"To die,"** he responded in a demonic voice. And with that he disappeared and reappeared behind the man, sheathing his katana.

Blood spurted everywhere as the man in the blue robes, now stained red, fell to his knees, clutching his chest. "When the rest of us come, you and your friends will all be slaughtered!" he hissed.

**"We'll see about that. However, you will never witness your so-called slaughter."**

"Perhaps not, but answer me this… What is your name…?"

"His name is Ghost." Another man appeared also dressed in black with the familiar red sash around his waist.

The dying man was shocked to find out that there was another one hunting him down. "The Ghost? Huh…Can't wait for the day you all die…" And with that the man's life slipped away.

The newcomer held his hand to his mouth and created a decent sized fireball, incinerating the body. He then walked towards his companion and slapped his shoulder. "It's been a while, Ghost."

"**It sur**e has, Robatsu," Ghost replied, his voice turning back to normal. "But what are you doing here?"

"Everyone has to report in. You were difficult to track down, like Uesari, so sending a message was out of the question."

Ghost dusted himself off. "Where do we meet up with the rest? At the inn?" he asked.

Robatsu gave a nod. "Yes, we have a week to get there, so it's best if we get going right away. Drop any jobs you got here and come with me."

"Let's get going then." And with that they disappeared with a soft pop.

On a boat heading for the elemental countries

A man dressed in red and black, with white stripes decorating his sleeves, knocked on a door of a cabin and opened it without awaiting a reply. "Sir, with our current speed the estimation of our arrival will be close to four weeks."

The muscular man, seated behind the desk, pitch black hair swept back, looked up and spoke. "Good. What about our scouts? Did they find any chakra leaks?"

"A couple, sir. Dorgan is compiling a list as we speak, it won't take long until he's finished."

They were interrupted by a short man. "Kenpachi, sir, another one of our scouts has failed to report in. This is the third over the course of four months."

There was a moment of silence. "It doesn't matter, we've got the information we wanted. Notify me when we reach the mainland."

"Understood, sir." And with that both men left, leaving Kenpachi in his room.

Kenpachi looked down at the photos lying on his desk. They were pictures of a handful of people wearing black robes with a red sash. Names were written underneath several of the pictures.

**Name: Hawke**

**Gender: male**

**Age: Unknown**

**Appearance: Trademark black robes with a black hood and red sash around the waist. Facial features unknown.**

**Weapon of favor: Suspecting katana.**

**Threat level: red borderline black. Handle with extreme care.**

The second one who didn't have a photo was someone Kenpachi had heard about but wasn't sure who exactly he was.

**Name: Ghost**

**Gender: male**

**Age: Unknown**

**Apearance: Trademark black robes with a black hood and red sash around the waist. Facial features unknown.**

**Weapon of favor: Unknown**

**Threat level: None survived to pass information, suspect red borderline black. Handle with extreme care**

The third and last they had any information about was one Kenpachi was familiar with.

**Name: Rome**

**Gender: male**

**Age: unknown**

**Apearance : trademark black robes with a black hood with a white stripe on his left shoulder. Facial features unknown.**

**Weapon of favor: dual wielding katanas**

**Threat level: Black, do not engage alone.**

"Rome…" Kenpachi whispered. The man he wanted dead so much. Yet he always slipped from his grasp. The man had become such a nuisance back in Mirarca by delaying their invasion by two weeks. Still, the man had earned his respect. And whenever someone had earned his respect in that way…it meant that that person had to die.

1 week later, somewhere in River country

Robatsu and Ghost walked through the gates of the small village Tova as evening fell, their outfits making the inhabitants of the village rather wary.

Robatsu spoke up, "It's best if we change our clothes, we are drawing too much suspicion to ourselves. We'll head to my apartment."

They turned to the left and casually walked through the streets before disappearing into nothingness, which went unnoticed. People tended to ignore things that made them a little nervous, pushing it to the backs of their minds and labeling it as someone else's problem.

About five minutes later Robatsu and Ghost walked through the streets. Ghost was wearing a bandana to cover his hair, and sunglasses. He had a long-sleeved black shirt with matching pants along with fingerless gloves.

Robatsu was wearing the same except he wasn't wearing a bandana and glasses, showing his brown hair and blue eyes.

They made their way back from where they came from and soon they arrived at the small square of the village. The inn was located at the far end of the square and they headed straight for it.

Ghost couldn't help but smile as he looked at the nameplate. "…Drowned Man... Home sweet home," he whispered.

Robatsu nodded. "It has been a while hasn't it?"

"Ever since we all split up, I haven't met up with the rest since…four years ago."

Ghost opened the door and walked inside, followed by Robatsu.

Once inside Ghost inhaled the smell of beer and cigarettes and smirked. It felt good to be back. He looked around and noticed that almost nothing had changed. The large round tables were still occupied by men and women that had travelled from far away. There were two bars, one opposite the entrance and the other placed against the western wall.

He walked over to a large table in the center of the inn occupied by a group of people. "It's been a while…"

The group looked up and some laughed. "If it isn't Naruto… or should we call you Ghost from now on?"

"Very funny, Hawke. You know what my name is as well as why I don't use it," Ghost said, annoyed.

Hawke laughed. "You're no fun anymore. You've sure grown the past four years, how old are you now Na-Ghost?"

Ghost sat down and took off his glasses, revealing his blue eyes. He wore his glasses so often that everything seemed too bright whenever he took them off, though luckily the light in the inn was dim so it didn't hurt his eyes. He signed towards the waitress to order a drink. "I'm twenty now," he answered. The waitress walked over, took his order with a smile, and left. "And what about you Hawke? I've noticed you've grown a beard, for the ladies, eh?"

Hawke grinned, "They like men with hair on their face."

Robatsu butted in. "You could always use any advantage you can get."

Hawke pouted. "Haters…"

"Alright enough!" a dark tanned bald man with brown eyes said.

"You're no fun, Rome. We were just having a bit of a joke," Robatsu said with a small smile.

Ghost sighed. "Speak for yourself."

"Now that we're all here, let's get started," a female said. She had brown hair tied in a ponytail which was draped over her left shoulder. She had caring green eyes. "My name is Mayu, as you all may know. The reason we all came here is because of recent developments regarding the Unknowns."

At this everyone straightened up and turned their heads towards Mayu.

"Our spy from within has managed to send a message just before they left from Mirarca. She reported that it would take them two months to arrive here. That was a month ago. They are four weeks away from here."

A deadly silence spread over the table. "Only four weeks?" a young petite woman with curly blonde hair whispered.

"Yes, Micheru, until the main force arrive. However, they have sent an advance force of five individuals. Their purpose is still unknown, though I suspect that they are heading for the five major hidden villages," Mayu said.

Rome spoke up. "That's why we're going to send five Hunters. Each one is going after one of them to eliminate them."

"Who will be going then?" Hawke asked.

Mayu downed her drink and smiled. "Our best of course."

Rome stood up and walked around the table. "The ones who are going will be: Robatsu, you will head for the Hidden Cloud Village. Hawke, you will go to the Hidden Sand Village. Raipa, you will head for the Hidden Rock while Ghost, you will head for the Hidden Leaf Village and I myself will go to the Hidden Mist Village. Are there any questions?"

Ghost took a sip from his drink. "I guess it's too much to ask for a swap?"

Mayu shook her head. "Sorry Ghost, you are all chosen for your knowledge of your respected villages. You all have ties to your selected villages which gives you an advantage."

Ghost sighed. "Figures…"

Hawke decided to cheer him up. "Still! We get the chance to go toe to toe with a real Unknown, not just a scout we've been fighting these last few years."

"Hawke…I'd rather fight scouts for another four years than go back to that hellhole."

Micheru was confused and whispered in Robatsu's ear. "Why is Hawke being so joyful about having to fight an Unknown?"

Robatsu smirked. "That's Hawke for ya. He tries to get the best out of the most depressing situations, like when we all went out drinking and he ended up in the bathroom because he drank too much sake. Even when he threw up he still laughed it off, telling us to refill his cup."

Micheru sweat-dropped. "Seriously? Remind me never to go drinking with him."

"Oh that's right, you hadn't joined us back then. You only recently joined, yeah? Micheru, isn't it? I'm Robatsu in case you didn't know," Robatsu spoke as he reached out his hand towards her

Micheru nodded with a smile as she shook his hand. "Yeah, I've never met most of you guys before. I'm still an apprentice of sorts; Rome is often training me."

Robatsu grinned. "Then you'll get strong soon enough."

Micheru laughed, "Without a doubt. But what's Ghost's deal? I've heard a lot about him, he's one of the youngest like me…But he is one of the strongest, like Rome just said."

Rome joined their conversation as Ghost and Hawke were talking tactics. "He's trained non-stop over the years. The first three years he trained with Hawke, after that he went on his own to continue to get stronger as well as to hunt down some of the scouts. He's a lot colder than last time we met though. People who are left to fend on their own often turn into cold hearted people. Especially Ghost."

"Why especially him?" the blonde woman asked.

Rome smirked, "You'd have to ask him that."

Ghost grabbed his beer and gulped it down before sighing in satisfaction. "I've heard that they are going to start the jounin exam in the Leaf soon - possible Chakra tear. That makes Leaf a high value target."

Hawke nodded as his eyes scanned the rather crowded inn. No one even paid attention to them. "That's most likely why you're assigned; you know the layout of the Arena and the village itself. You are also one of the strongest in our group, so you'll be pitted against one of the toughest opponents I guess. Lucky bastard…"

"Take a hike…"

"Are you going with me on this 'hike'?" Hawke asked, annoying the hell out of Ghost.

"Only hike I'm taking is to my room, catch you guys tomorrow," Ghost said as he stood up.

Rome nodded. "I think it's for the best if the group that heads out for the hidden villages tomorrow goes to bed early."

"Indeed, that is the wisest choice. That means you too, Hawke," Mayu said as well.

Hawke pouted. "Darn, no sake for me tonight."

Ghost ignored Hawke and walked over towards the bar near the entrance. "I'd like to book a room."

The man behind the bar nodded. "Certainly, sir." He grabbed a key from underneath the counter and told Ghost that it would cost 150 ryo per night (A:N/ I have no clue what the currency is)

Ghost took it, went to the room number written on it, and immediately went to bed.

Rome followed Ghost up the hallway and then turned to Hawke. "He wasn't happy with his assignment."

Raipa, who had curly black hair and a matching moustache, spoke up, his accent (a/n: think French accent) adding a strange lilt to his words. "He doesn't mind ze assignment. Rather, he doesn't like ze location, no?"

Hawke nodded. "Of course. Ghost is dedicated, like we all are, but returning to his place of birth is rather hard for him. Anyways…Raipa, where's Uesari? I thought you were assigned to retrieve him?"

Raipa sighed and said, "I was, but I couldn't track him down so I had to return. I've sent a message to his base of operations in ze land of Grass to report in as soon as possible."

"Alright, let's head to bed," Rome said as he too went upstairs, followed by Robatsu, Hawke and Raipa.

7:00AM the next day

The Hunters all stood outside the village on the path that lead into the swamp, wearing their full Hunter outfits. Rome, Hawke, Ghost, Raipa and Robatsu stood next to each other, facing the rest.

Mayu stepped forward. "I wish you all the best of luck in your fight against the enemy. However, remember that the protection of the innocent is your top priority when engaged with an Unknown."

"Of course, Mayu. I guess we'll see you all soon. Take care," Rome said.

With that the five Hunters walked down the path until they reached a curve and disappeared from sight.

After about half an hour of walking they stopped and faced each other. "I guess zis iz where we split up, no?"

Rome nodded. "Take care guys, don't spare anyone."

Hawke grinned maniacally, "Don't worry about that!"

"Ah, and Ghost…? Though you harbor hatred for your home village, you still have to defend the inhabitants. Understand?"

Ghost just glared at the man from beneath his hood."Don't worry about it, I know my assignment. See you guys when I get back." And with that he vanished.

The rest followed his example and disappeared with a soft pop.

Three days later, Fire country

Ghost slowly walked down the path that lead to the gates of the Leaf village. _'I've ignored the Fire country since the day I've left, and now I'm returning to the very place that tried to take away the most important thing in my life, to eliminate an Unknown and most likely save the stinking village in the process.'_

He looked up from the ground and saw the gates of the Leaf village in the distance. _'Showtime…'_

He walked through the gates and got wary looks from the guards stationed on the wall. He turned his head towards the check-in post where one of the Leaf shinobi was signaling him to head over. He walked over and crossed his arms as he waited for the shinobi to talk.

The Leaf shinobi gave him the once over and shuddered which was visible to Ghost who chose to ignore it. "State your business in our village," he asked in an authoritative tone.

There was a moment of silence. "I am from the village hidden in the Shadows. I am here to participate in the Jounin exams. We have not signed up in time due to some internal problems within our village. My leader, however, hopes there is still a chance to participate."

The shinobi behind the counter pondered on this for a moment. "You will need to see Lady Hokage in her office. It's located at the foot of the Hokage monument and it's the largest building of our village so you can't miss it. I'll send a message ahead to let them know you're coming. What's your name?"

"Just tell her that a Shadow shinobi is coming." Having said his piece Ghost nodded and left.

The Leaf shinobi sighed in relief and turned around to continue with his paperwork. (The word 'shinobi' doesn't need a capital letter. It's just like the word 'ninja' or 'table'.)

Ghost walked through the streets, his mind a seething mass of hate and disgust. His left hand had a metal claw around it and he would clench and unclench his fist every few seconds to indicate his annoyance. He walked past the weapon shop Tenten and her parents worked in and scoffed as he threw the building a glance. '_Disgusting bunch of amateurs, I wonder what rank she gained…chunin or even Jounin…who knows…'_

He stopped for a moment when he saw Ichiraku's ramen on his right and for a moment, a split second, his hate and disgust were replaced with a small tinge of sadness. '_Those two are a part of the small circle of ones I regret leaving behind…'_

He inwardly shook himself and turned his head back to the Hokage tower and continued his walk. Villagers gave him a wide birth and he could sense Anbu following him on the rooftops of the buildings beside him. He smirked behind his facemask. '_They're wary of me, good.'_

He continued to his walk, acting casually so as not to let the Leaf elite know he was onto them. So far he hadn't encountered any of his _'_friends' and hoped they were all out on missions or dead.

He could see the small gate and wall that separated the Hokage tower from the rest of the village. The two Anbu guards stationed at the gate saw him coming and waited until he was close enough to hail without raised voices.

They nodded in greeting before opening the gate. "We have heard of your arrival, Shadow shinobi-san. Please leave the katana strapped on your back here, as well as any other weapons you are currently wearing."

Ghost nodded, reached for his katana and slowly unsheathed it, leaving the sheath on his back as he handed the blade to the Anbu. He then reached for the belt he had strapped on his leg under the flap of his robe and pulled out the five kunai he had there, along with some scrolls. "These are the only weapons I have. I will have them back in the same condition once I leave the tower." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Of course Shadow shinobi-san, no one will touch your weaponry. You may proceed." With the formalities out of the way, the Anbu stepped aside to let him through.

Ghost slowly proceeded towards the double doors that were the entrance of the tower. He no longer felt the chakra signatures of the Anbu who were following him and he assumed that without his weapons he wouldn't pose a significant threat. How wrong they were, but he wasn't there to start a fight, only to gain entrance to the exam and track down the Unknown. He smiled; he was looking forward to fighting whoever it was.

There was a desk directly across the room from the double doors and he made a beeline for it. "I am here to see the Hokage, she is expecting me."

The woman looked up and cringed at the dark form that stood before her, fear coursing through her body. She was used to dealing with shinobi, but some of them still gave her the creeps. "You are the S-Shadow shinobi?"

Ghost nodded.

"G-go right a-ahead. H-her office is on the top floor," the woman stuttered.

Ghost turned to the left and went up the stairs. He continued his trek until he reached the top floor. He walked along the hallway leading to the office, passing several shinobi who looked at him and unconsciously took a few steps to the side, as much as the hallway would allow, to increase the space between them.

After passing a few doors he reached the door labeled Hokage's office. He stood there for a moment before knocking twice.

"Come in," a female voice said.

'_I'm going to love this…' _Ghost thought sarcastically as he did as the voice bid.

Inside he saw Asuma and Shizune standing on either side of the desk. Behind it was Tsunade, sitting with her hands folded. Asuma looked almost the same except that he now sported a moustache as well, making it look like he had a goatee style along with the sideburns. Shizune hadn't changed at all except that she was wearing a ring around her finger. Tsunade was exactly the same thanks to her illusory jutsu.

Tsunade looked at him and suppressed a shudder. Standing in front of her was a man completely dressed in black. His face was covered by a hood and she assumed that he was wearing a facemask beneath. "Shadow-shinobi, from what I've heard you want to participate in the jounin exams. If that's so, please hand over your sheet regarding your information.

Ghost nodded after barely managing to suppress his killer intent and he slowly reached within his robe to grab something.

Asuma noticed and slowly reached for his trench knives while Shizune tensed up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja," Ghost said softly though the intent couldn't have been more deadly.

Asuma abruptly stilled. "You know who I am?"

"Of course. Here is my sheet, Hokage."

Tsunade chose to ignore his disrespectfulness and looked at his paper.

**Name: Ghost**

**Rank: Chunin**

**Affiliation: Village hidden in the Shadow's**

**Number of completed missions: 35 D ranked missions, 28 C ranked missions, 10 B ranked missions, 3 A ranked missions**

**Team members: Deceased**

Tsunade looked up from the sheet and something about the whole thing bugged her, but she didn't know what. "Normally I wouldn't allow such late participants. However, as a token of respect I will allow you to participate, though I do wish that you refrain from threatening any of my shinobi again…ever."

"I was merely stating the obvious, Hokage. He doesn't have to feel threatened at all if he keeps his hands clear from his weapons, which was clearly indicating hostility towards me," Ghost coldly stated.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes before smiling. "Alright, that's understandable. He was only trying to protect me in case something would happen."

"Don't worry Hokage, all my weapons were confiscated upon arrival. And if I wanted to attack someone in this room…I wouldn't have done it in so obvious a manner. Now, at what date will the exam begin?"

Tsunade glared at the man. "Well…Ghost, the exam will start this upcoming Saturday at 13:00 PM at the arena, you can't miss it."

Ghost nodded. "Thank you for your time as well as allowing me to participate in the Jounin exam." With that he turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

Asuma looked at the closed door. "That man…He's dangerous. I don't think he's here for the Jounin exams at all."

Shizune agreed with Asuma."You're right, he's up to something. We should watch him carefully."

Tsunade stood up and walked around her desk. "We should but we won't. Give him the benefit of the doubt."

Shizune had a look of surprise on her face. "Are you sure Lady Hokage? Only looking at him scares me."

Tsunade walked to the door and opened it. "I'm sure. Leave him be…For now." With that order now issued she left.

Asuma stood up as well. "I'm going to see if Kakashi's done with his assignment."

Shizune nodded and smiled. "Take care, Asuma-san."

xXx

Ghost laid his katana on his bed and grabbed his scrolls he had attached around his waist. It hadn't taken him long to find a hotel to stay at for the duration of his visit and he settled in quickly.

He opened the two scrolls and made a hand sign; a small cloud of smoke erupted, and when it cleared several weapons could be found on his bed. He grabbed the two katanas and placed them against the wall next to his bed. He then grabbed two daggers of the same design as Asuma's trench knives. Where Asuma had his knuckle blades, Ghost had another curved blade that went around his knuckles all the way to his sleeve. He placed them in the sheaths he had on his lower back and sealed the other weapons back in the scrolls.

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He went straight to the mirror and removed his hood, revealing his bandana, sunglasses and facemask. He removed the sunglasses and winced at the bright lights. He looked in the mirror and saw his blue eyes. _'Why do I even bother to look…The lights will keep hurting my eyes if I'm not in my demon form…what a pain…'_

He shook his head, put his glasses back on and flicked his hood forward as well. Ghost, feeling in need of a drink, walked out of the hotel to find someplace to slake his thirst.

As he walked down the streets, he saw the bar where Kakashi betrayed him. He pushed the flaps aside and sat down at the counter. Signaling the barman he ordered a cup of sake. He pulled his face mask down, revealing the lower part of his face, and downed his sake, sighing in satisfaction. Before he had time to grab his facemask a person sat down next to him.

He glanced to the left and time seemed to slow down. Shikamaru Nara and Chōji Akimichi were sitting right there. _'This is just fucking fantastic… I have a Nara sitting next to me which is self explanatory.' _Ghost took a better look at Chōji and noticed that the young man had lost a lot of body fat and in return became very muscular.

"Man! Can you believe it? This is the third time in a row that I'm on patrol duty, it's ridiculous," Chōji complained.

"You're lucky you don't have to be part of the team to organize the jounin exams. Very troublesome," Shikamaru replied in a bored tone.

Chōji nodded. "That's true I suppose." He glanced to the right and tensed up. Sitting next to him was a man dressed in black.

"What are you looking at?" the man dressed in black asked coldly.

"You. Who are you? Show your face," Chōji ordered.

"That's none of your business, Leaf shinobi." With that Ghost stood up after dropping some ryo on the bar.

Chōji abruptly stood up, followed by Shikamaru. "It is our business, stranger. We are both jounin from this village, state your purpo-"

Ghost just walked out onto the streets only to be stopped by a female. He grabbed his face mask and pulled it back into place. "Get out of my way; I have no quarrel with any of you."

The female looked at Ghost and he recognized her as Kurenai.

Kurenai gave the man a good look over and narrowed her eyes. "What's your business here? If you do not answer we will be forced to restrain you until you give us the information we want."

It was then that Asuma butted in, having seen the confrontation as he casually followed Ghost. "Stand down everyone, this man is here for the jounin exam. He's cleared, leave him be."

Ghost pushed himself past Kurenai. "**Wis**e choice." And with that he disappeared in the crowd.

"Is he a contestant? No way…The vibes I got from him, he's here for something else," Chōji said.

"You're right, and did you hear his voice? It changed or something…Very strange…I wonder what Kakashi thinks about him," Kurenai replied.

"He doesn't know about him yet, he's still out on an assignment. He'll most likely see him in action at the exam," Asuma said

Shikamaru nodded, deep in thought.

xXx

'_I almost lost it… Gotta be more careful.'_ Ghost slammed the door of his room behind him and lay down on his bed, but not before placing a seal that would alert him in case someone tried to enter his room.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

xXx

Hawke had entered the village fairly easily. He had purchased a desert robe from a small village just before he had entered the Wind country to cover the distinguishing features of his outfit. The guards let him in after he told them that he was a traveler looking for a place to stay the night. From what he had heard from Rome the enemy often dressed by rank and the man they had sent ahead were without a doubt one of the higher ranked. They would be dressed in blood red robes with metal plating around their wrists, shoulders and legs, and possibly a metal facemask.

Why they had such heavy armour was beyond Hawke and he hadn't thought to ask Rome about it when he had the chance.

Hawke sat down at a bar that was located one of the smaller streets that lead deeper into the living area of the hidden village. He had asked several villagers and traders if they had seen someone with wide red robes and metal plating. No one had seen anyone with the given description.

He decided to get a drink to bolster his spirit. After three cups of sake he thought he'd try his luck with the barman; all sorts of people wandered into bars and they were usually a good source of information. So he put his hand up to signal the man. "Could I ask you a question, good man?"

"Another cup of sake?" the barman asked with a grin.

Hawke laughed. "Make that two questions then. The other one is: have you seen a man with red or dark blue robes; the person usually wears plating on their wrists and legs and perhaps his or her shoulder?"

The barman filled Hawke's cup with sake yet again as he dug through his memories. "Hmm, yes I have, it was middle aged man with white hair. Comes here once a week every Friday. Not a bad guy - often gives tips. He told me he scours our land for artifacts to sell, he's kinda nuts if you ask me…the Desert is a dangerous place for inexperienced travelers."'

Hawke downed his drink. "Alright, I'll be back Friday then. Also, don't tell him I've asked about him. I guess this will be enough to cover it." He stood up and placed a large sum of ryo on the bar. "See ya!" He exited the bar and walked off down the street. The barman's gaze followed him for a moment before he eagerly grabbed the cash.

Hawke walked with a grin on his face. _Less than a week! Then I'll cut the red cloaked guy to pieces! I could search the desert but the chances of finding him would be very small. Man, this is even more fun than the time Rome, Robatsu, Mayu and I were having a free-for-all sparring match!_ He suppressed the urge to cheer and decided to book a room in a hotel somewhere.

xXx

And that's chapter four! I hope you liked Naruto's reunion with the Leaf village. I won't introduce everyone from his past because that would ruin all the fun!

I also hope you all like the OC's I've added. There are more Hunter's, but I've decided not to introduce them all at once, to avoid confusion ;)

Any questions? Lay em on me!


	5. Chapter 5: Cursed beyond belief?

I'm back with chapter five! I'm sorry it took a while but there were some problems… Mainly the sun that was shining in my face, literally telling me to get my ass out of the house.

I would like to thank you for your patience, your reviews and by adding my story to your favorites and of course all the alerts!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

I would also like to thank FantomoDrako for beta-reading my story! *raises glass*

_'Thoughts'_

**Demonic voice**

_"Flashback"_

**I will become a Ghost Chapter 5**

* * *

><p>Ghost wandered through the streets looking for his target. For the past two days he hadn't found any trace of the Unknown, and as more days were spent searching the more convinced he was that his target wouldn't show himself until the exam…How wrong he was.<p>

Ghost took a shortcut through an alleyway which was abandoned. He walked down it in a lazy manner, oblivious to everything that regarded the Leaf in any way, however something caught his eye.

Leaning against a tree was a man with red robes and metal plating around his wrist, legs and shoulder. He also wore an eye patch over his right eye. He had dark brown hair which was cut short. Ghost stopped walking and turned towards the man.

"What…are you looking at?" the red robed man asked.

"You," the Hunter replied. T_he descriptions match, this has to be him._

"And why are-" The man stopped mid-sentence as he came to a realization, and he couldn't help but smile. "Well, well, if it isn't one of the infamous Hunters… You and your friends have become quite a nuisance these last couple of years. Are you Rome or perhaps that idiot Hawke?"

Ghost smirked from beneath his facemask. "No, my name's Ghost. What's yours, Unknown?"

The man smiled, "So that's how you name us. My name is Riadora…Now then, since we're all acquainted, are you prepared to dance?"

"Bring it on." And with that they both flickered from sight until they met each other in the middle of the alleyway. Both had a katana at each other's throat. Ghost's katana was black with a silver handle and a dark red guard. His blade reflected the sun, giving the katana a frightening look.

Riadora tried to look at his eyes but his view was blocked by the hood. "Little shy are we? How about you get rid of that hood?"

Ghost tilted his head, softly touching the metal of his opponent's blade, daring him to make the first move. "It suits me just fine."

With the movement of his head Riadora could look underneath the hood and saw sunglasses. With a swift stroke he continued his assault, trying to decapitate his opponent, only to have his blade blocked by the blade of the Hunter, who had taken a step back.

It was then that Ghost felt another presence behind him. He disappeared from sight and appeared on a branch of the same tree Riadora was leaning against earlier. "So there are two of you…Interesting."

The second person walked up to Riadora. "A Hunter? What's he doing here in the Leaf?"

Ghost looked at the second person, which turned out to be a woman around the age of 25 to 30 with black hair tied in a bun. "I could be asking you two the same thing."

Riadora shrugged. "I don't know Sia, we didn't exchange pleasantries. But you know our orders; kill anyone who stands in our way."

Ghost looked from Riadora to Sia. _What the hell is a second Unknown doing here! I don't know if I can handle two of them. If what I heard is true than these are two of their higher ranked…Ah screw this._

Ghost vanished yet again, appeared beside Riadora and gave him a mind-numbing blow to the head, causing him to fly into a wooden fence, completely destroying it. The Hunter turned to the woman named Sia and already had his katana aimed at her. She, in return, took a few steps back to prepare a jutsu. She didn't get far however.

Holding her hand to prevent her from completing her hand signs was a silver haired jonin. She looked up and saw that three Leaf shinobi had taken a place between the two combatants and a fourth stood next to Riadora, who had regained his posture after the blow.

Standing beside and in front of Ghost were the two people he hoped he'd never see again. The one who blocked his blade with his own was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. The raven haired boy he once knew was now roughly the same height as him and had grown his hair a bit longer, though the hair style had remained the same. He was wearing a standard issue chunin/jonin vest with a black shirt and black pants, a typical jonin outfit.

The other one was a pink haired kunoichi named Sakura Haruno. The years had changed her appearance quite a bit. She still had her hair short but the edges were now ruffled and a bit more messy, making her look more like a shinobi that spent time in the field rather than a woman who spent half of her day on her hair and make-up. She also wore a vest and dark blue pants with a shirt underneath.

Ghost glanced to where Riadora had landed; he was casually standing there with a smile on his face. Standing next to him was a shinobi which he wasn't familiar with. Ghost scoffed and retracted his sword, slowly placing it back in the sheath on his back.

The silver haired jonin saw the woman relax so he decided to release his grasp. He turned around towards Sasuke, Sakura and Ghost. "What the hell is this about; you all know the rules, no fighting before the exam!" he said as he looked from Ghost to Sia and Riadora.

Ghost looked at the silver haired man and scoffed again. _This is just great…What is this a whole fucking reunion?_

Sakura noticed and narrowed her eyes. "Be more respectful towards Leaf shinobi, stranger."

Ghost was literally boiling inside, killing intent slowly leaked from his body. "Cut the crap, kunoichi. Respect is earned and not given. And the Copycat there surely hasn't earned anything yet."

Before Kakashi could reply Riadora spoke up. "It was fun while it lasted, Hunter! I hope I will see you again soon so that we may continue our dance!"

Ghost managed to suppress the killing intent and smirked instead. "Remember what's coming for you, Riadora, it will be your last."

Riadora just smiled and with a nod towards Sia they both disappeared.

Kakashi stood next to Sasuke and looked at the man, deciding to ignore the brief conversation between the two assailants. "You know who I am…May I ask who you are? Are you a contestant?"

Ghost tilted his head, "You may, I am Ghost, and yes I am a contestant."

Sasuke scoffed. "What kind of name is that…?"

Ghost turned to the Uchiha and managed to suppress a scowl. "That's because I've earned it Uchiha… my speed and my ability are faster than most eyes can follow. And, of course, my ability to stay hidden from almost anyone I desire."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

Ghost gave a grin which was invisible to his former teammates. "I know a lot about the Uchihas. Your kekkei genkai is unique, which some would say makes you unique, especially since you're one of the last Uchihas along with your brother Itachi…You sure resemble each other."

Sasuke was surprised to say the least. "Itachi…You've met him?"

Ghost nodded and his grin became a real smile, still hidden from everyone. "Nice guy; had a drink with him before I tried to kick his ass in a spar…."

At this Kakashi widened his eyes in surprise and Sakura gasped. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in anger. "Where is he! Tell me!"

"No idea, and even if I did…I have nothing against the man so I don't plan on stabbing him in the back, he's a good sparring partner. Now then, if that is all, I'll be leaving…" Ghost said as he walked past the small group.

Kakashi ignored his remark and spoke up. "Could I ask you one last question? Are you the Ghost? The Ghost… who caused the Irosa massacre?"

Ghost just kept walking. "Perhaps, Copycat…Perhaps." And with that he disappeared.

Sakura turned to Kakashi. "What was that about, Kakashi?"

Kakashi kept looking at the spot where Ghost had disappeared. "That man isn't here for the jonin exam, that's for sure. Sasuke, didn't you recognize the way he dressed?"

Sasuke had a scowl on his face. "He did look a bit familiar…"

Kakashi continued to stare at the spot Ghost disappeared from. "That's because he's in the bingo book as one of the most dangerous mercenaries in the elemental countries. But I don't understand why the other one called him 'Hunter'…"

The man with the short sword joined the group and crossed his arms after he sheathed his weapon.

Sakura shook her feeling of dread off. She felt the killing intent the man released even if it was just a bit, and the appearance the man had itself made it a lot worse. "Should we let Lady Hokage know?"

Kakashi nodded and took the lead. "Let's head out."

Sasuke took one last glance at where the so-called Hunter disappeared and then followed Kakashi.

xXx

Ghost sat on the edge of a roof of a building near the alleyway he just left. _Goddamn! I should´ve left the moment they arrived. _

He stood up from his spot and headed towards the hotel to send a message regarding the arrival of a second Unknown.

xXx

Two days later, Tova village

Mayu and Micheru where sparring against each other in the middle of the forest not far from the village.

Micheru was panting heavily as she used her last bit of chakra to form a small river of mud, trying to throw Mayu off-balance. It didn´t work however, as Mayu managed to stay balanced and eventually even counterattack with her own Earth jutsu.

"Giving up already Micheru? Come on get up, I know you still have some fight left in you!" Mayu taunted.

Micheru grit her teeth as she ran towards Mayu, swinging her fist at her opponent's face. Mayu caught her fist and squeezed.

"Good, as long as you have some fight left in you…use it. Never give up; it's better to die in a fight than to be at their mercy," Mayu said with a smile as she released the grip on her fist.

"Mayu-sensei, I've just received word from Uesari that a letter has arrived at the Drowned Man. It's from Ghost," said a man with black hair cut short and a stern look on his face as he raised his arm above his head, allowing the bird who carried the message to fly back.

Mayu raised an eyebrow. "That's rather soon. They would only contact upon completion of their mission...Alright, sparring's over for today, let's head back. Are you coming as well, Hitoshi?"

The raven haired man named Hitoshi nodded. "Of course, Mayu-Sensei."

Micheru dusted herself off and followed Mayu and Hitoshi.

It took the three of them about 15 minutes to get back to the inn and after ordering something to drink they sat down next to Uesari and opened the letter.

**Mayu-sama,**

**I've encountered one of the Unknown ****-**** his name is Riadora. I didn't have the chance to eliminate him yet because a second Unknown joined the battle, as well as Leaf interrupting me. Don't know the full extent of their power. It's possible that the others may encounter two or more.**

**I hope everything is well at Tova. **

**Ghost**

After Mayu read the short letter she thought things over as she passed the letter to Micheru. "Hmm, I don't know if Ghost and the others can handle two simultaneously. And we don't have the man power to send the others."

Micheru's eyes widened after she read the letter. "We should help them out!"

Mayu crossed her arms and looked at her feet. "No, we must have faith. We can't send out everyone at the first sign of trouble. This is just a small team they've sent ahead, what would happen if the main force arrives? At that point we should be able to go toe-to-toe with them and on a lot of these occasions we will fight against more than one at a time."

Micheru looked down at her feet as well. "But…" she protested weakly.

Hitoshi smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Trust them, Micheru. We didn't just send some pushovers."

Micheru looked up and nodded.

Mayu nodded as well. "Uesari, send a message to the others to inform them of this news."

"Of course, Mayu-sama, I will do it immediately." With those instructions clear in his mind, he stood up and left the table.

xXx

Wind country, Friday

Hawke entered the bar and saw exactly what he was looking for. His target had finally appeared. Hawke decided to nonchalantly sit next to what appeared to be a man. After a quick nod towards the barman, indicating to him to leave, he turned to the man. "It took a while for me to find you…"

The man, wearing a red cloak, glanced to the left and smiled before drawing out what appeared to be a hatchet, and swung it at Hawke. Hawke, in return, propped his feet against the bar and pushed himself out of the way, using his hands to back flip and landing on his feet. He followed up by swiftly grabbing two shuriken and hurling them at the enemy, who easily deflected the small projectiles.

The cloaked man laughed as he dashed towards Hawke, swinging his hatchet. Hawke barely had time to duck underneath the blade, though the move took him within arm's reach of his opponent and the Hunter wasted no time planting his fist in his opponent's face. Hawke could hear the grunt but apparently he didn't do much damage so he dove out of the way and stood up. He looked at his enemy and smiled. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight! Those scouts of yours were barely a challenge!"

"Likewise, Hunter Hawke, you have gained quite a reputation within our group; even our leader has taken notice."

Hawke smiled. "What is your name? Makes things a lot easier when I go back to my comrades; I can tell them that I've killed the great 'what's your name!'"

The Unknown cackled. "You can call me Six. And believe me when I tell you that you're not going to win this fight, just like your friend Ghost. He's up against two of my comrades. They are, of course, not as strong as I am, but two against one makes things rather difficult. Now, let's continue, shall we!"

"So my friend has met his opponents, and two no less! Lucky bastard…"

Hawke's eyes widened in surprise as the man grabbed what appeared to be a second hatchet from beneath his cloak. He then charged Hawke, who unsheathed his katana. He blocked the first massive blow and barely dodged the second hatchet, pulling his katana back and swiping it at the Six's head. Six, in return, skillfully countered it with his left hatchet, leaving Hawke wide open for a counterattack.

The right hatchet swung vertically, aimed for his chest, and all Hawke could do was lean back. The far point of the hatchet made a large but shallow cut. Hawke fell to the ground but not before giving a desperate swipe, which Six easily side-stepped.

Hawke then managed to slide back using his feet until he reached a pillar; he quickly stood up and threw another shuriken. Six smirked and destroyed the shuriken by swinging one of his weapons at it.

"Katon: Karyū Endan!"

Six was mildly surprised as he saw a dragon made of fire coming his way. In one quick and fluid motion he slid his hand across one of his hatchets, coating it in chakra. He then used all of his strength and threw it at the dragon.

The dragon was split in two and engulfed the entire bar. When the fire died down Six walked towards Hawke who was impaled upon the pillar behind him, blood dripping from his left shoulder.

Hawke coughed, looked to his shoulder and shook his head.

The thrown hatchet was embedded in his shoulder, effectively nailing him to the pillar.

With a grunt he grabbed the hatchet and pulled it out of his shoulder. Panting, he looked at his opponent who used the opportunity to strike.

Hawke threw the hatchet which Six narrowly evaded, but a hint of surprise colored his eyes when he got hit by a shuriken. "Ah, you threw my hatchet and one of your shuriken at the same time to hide the shuriken…Clever, but you're done!" In a flash he disappeared and reappeared behind Hawke.

Hawke just kept looking forward with sad eyes before he fell to his knees. He looked down to his chest where he now had a second cut much deeper than the other one. He could feel Six walking towards him, no doubt for the finishing blow. The hunter looked down to his hands. Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Rabbit-Tiger. After finishing his last hand sign he twirled around still on his knees and released his jutsu. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Small fireballs erupted from his mouth and a couple hit Six dead on, blasting him out of the bar and into the street. With a grunt Hawke jumped after him, his katana held in both hands above his head, making a downward strike at his opponent who was lying on his back, recuperating from the last attack.

Six grinned like a madman as he deflected the attack with one of his weapons and then kicked Hawke in the head, causing the Hunter to fly into one of the stalls.

Six casually stood up, dusting himself off. "Not bad…But then again it was a lucky shot."

Hawke jumped from the remains of the stall and released a fireball, leaving Six no other option than to evade it. After Six regained his footing he disappeared and appeared right in front of Hawke.

Hawke grimaced and coughed up blood as he looked down. His eyes widened in surprise and even fear when he saw that Six had his arm inside his right chest ripping his lung apart.

Six looked at him with red glowing eyes. **"You are too late, human. I have already gained the power you feared so much and tried to prevent. You will die here," **Six stated with a demonic voice.

Blood formed in his throat as darkness consumed him, arms hanging limply at his side. He let out a scream as Six retracted his arm and threw him on the ground. _Figures…The moment you need a healer or a shinobi there aren't any around…I guess today is the day I die._

He closed his eyes when he no longer felt the presence of Six around him. He vaguely felt someone touch him but he didn't care and succumbed to the darkness.

xXx

Ghost was on his way towards the stadium, presumably where the exam would take place. It was different than the Chunin exams, this would be a tournament; the one who would win the finals will advance to Jonin, as well as anyone who would show remarkable skill. Anyone who was average but still showed some skill that was at the level of a Jonin would fight another round against one of the examiners, who would then decide if he or she would advance in rank.

As he walked through the huge double doors which looked like gates he could see most of the contestants already standing there. He saw the Unknowns and decided to stand next to Riadora. He then looked up to see thousands of people looking down on him. '_Déjà vu?' _He couldn't help but smile.

"Good to see you could make it in time, Ghost," a voice said.

Ghost looked up and saw Neji standing next to Shikamaru. He wasn't sure who had spoken as his attention had been focused on the crowd and the rush of memories that had suddenly hit him.

Shikamaru looked at the contestants. "Alright, let's get this exam started. Lying on the ground before your feet is a small metal plate. Grab it."

Everyone did what was asked and grabbed the metal plates at their feet. They were only small and just fit neatly in the palm of their hands.

Neji walked closer to the contestants and nodded. "Good, now apply some chakra to the name plate. The moment you do so, your opponent will be revealed to you, after which you will hand over your plates one at a time starting from the left."

(a/n: There will be a lot of contestants so I won't go into details)

One by one the 16 contestants handed over the metal plates and left in pairs through an opening on the far end of the wall. Ghost vaguely listened as he kept glancing at Riadora and Sia.

"Sakura Haruno will go against Niera Tsiku, will both contestants please wait in the holding area until your match," Shikamaru announced, and moments later on a big screen hanging below the balcony of the Hokage seats the names appeared as well.

Ghost couldn't help but smile. _So there are contestants from the former Konoha 11. I wonder who else of those idiots are here for the exam._

Name after name was called and placed upon the screen until it was Ghost's turn. He gave Shikamaru his name plate and the Nara announced his opponent. "Ghost will go against Kiba Inuzuka. Will both contestants please wait in the holding area until you are called to fight."

"Such a shame… I guess we won't be able to dance for now…" Riadora softly said.

Ghost smirked. "We'll get the opportunity."

Ghost and Kiba walked side by side to the holding area. "Scared?" Kiba asked tauntingly.

"If you don't want to die in the upcoming round, I advise you to shut your mouth," Ghost coldly stated.

Kiba snorted. "You wish! You are so going to bite the dust!"

_He's going to die… _Ghost thought, annoyed.

They both arrived at the holding area and could see the contestants and most of their sensei's waiting for the exam to start. The hooded man walked to the corner and sat down, propped his feet against one of the seats in front of him and closed his eyes, absently opening and closing his left fist which had a metal claw around it. (A/N: Think of the claw that Hawke uses in Dragon age 2.)

2 hours later

Ghost reopened his eyes and noticed that someone was sitting next to him. His lips formed a thin line when he noticed it was Kakashi.

"About time you woke up," Kakashi said lazily as he read his Icha Icha Paradise novel.

"What do you want, Copycat?" Ghost asked in a clearly annoyed tone.

"A little chat."

Ghost ignored him, stood up and walked towards the railing to watch the fight. He saw Sakura fighting against Niera. Sakura was clearly the better fighter and wiped the floor with her opponent, using her superhuman strength. _She's improved quite a lot, from worthless Genin, to a pretty decent Chunin…_

Not giving up that easily, Kakashi walked over and stood next to the Hunter. "Why are you here? You're clearly not here for the exam."

Ghost leaned on the railing. "I am…If you want to believe it or not, Copycat."

"And Sakura advances to the next round. Could Riera Kria and Boku Tusa please come down?" Shikamaru announced.

"Copycat…Can I ask you something?" Ghost asked suddenly.

Kakashi turned his head and smiled. "Sure."

"Why did you betray your old student?" Ghost managed to ask the question without spitting it out.

Kakashi stood there with wide eyes, but recomposed himself. "Old stud-"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Ghost said quickly, cutting the older shinobi off.

The silver haired Jonin sighed. "I will answer your question if you answer one of mine."

Ghost scoffed, "Which question would that be?"

"Are you the same Ghost that is responsible for every death within the Irosa village?"

"I am…I'm the one who killed everyone within that village."

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat and he started boiling with anger on the inside, wanting to beat the man before him into the ground. "Why did you do that? You killed men, women and children! What's to stop me from killing you here on the spot?" he asked with venom in his voice.

"Because you want to know why and who knows, perhaps I'll tell you as long as you keep your shinobi at bay. That was three questions, Copycat. I only promised one and instead gave you two. Now answer my question."

Kakashi looked down towards the fight between the two contestants which seemingly were evenly matched. "I couldn't handle him and my other student at the same time; I didn't dare to put them together again. But how do you know about Naruto? Have you met him?" Kakashi tried to discreetly study Ghost for any reaction to his answer that might reveal anything about the person under the hood.

"No, just heard it on the road, about a student from the famous Kakashi Copycat Hatake that had fled the village," he replied evenly, not giving anything away even as he inwardly had flashbacks from his past.

Meanwhile Sakura walked through the door which led to the waiting area and went up to Ino who was also a contestant. She noticed the stranger called Ghost talking to Kakashi and that piqued her curiosity. "Why is Kakashi talking to that guy?"

Ino, who now had her blond hair cut short, looked towards the two. "Don't know…I know Kakashi sat down next to him moments before the hooded stranger noticed."

Sakura decided to meet them and walked over. About the same time Shikamaru's voice came from the arena.

"And Riera advances to the next round. Could Ghost and Kiba Inuzuka please come down?" Shikamaru announced yet again.

Ghost disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the arena which slightly surprised Shikamaru. Moments later Kiba walked through the opening and stood before Ghost.

"Alright these are the rules: You can do whatever necessary to win. Killing is allowed; however, when your opponent is down and can't continue to fight, then that person cannot apply the killing blow. You will be stopped so don't try. There is no time limit and kekkei genkais are allowed. Are there any questions?" Shikamaru stated more than asked.

Ghost remained silent and Kiba gave a smirk and nodded.

"Alright then, you may begin!" Having said his piece Shikamaru jumped back until he reached the edge of the field.

"Prepared to go down Ghost?" Kiba taunted.

"Are you prepared to die Kiba Inuzuka?" Ghost asked.

Kiba growled and attacked, aiming his fist at Ghost's hooded face.

Ghost stood there. He tilted his head before grabbing Kiba's wrist, which was aimed for his head, and gave it a squeeze, digging the metal claw from his vambrace in Kiba's flesh.

"You are no match Kiba," he stated before he easily broke Kiba's wrist. He ignored the man's howling of pain, pulling Kiba down before releasing his grip and grabbing his face in one fluid motion.

Ghost's metal claw dug into the Inuzuka's face, drawing blood. "You're going to die." He then threw Kiba into the far end of the wall below the holding area.

Before Kiba's feet could even touch the ground Ghost was already in front of him and grabbed his throat with his right hand – the one which didn't have a metal claw. The Hunter started a barrage of sickening blows to the man's face and stomach causing the Inuzuka to howl even louder. _Revenge…_

Ghost looked down at his left arm and noticed the painful feeling that spread throughout his lower arm. _Need to finish this before my anger triggers my arm._

Peering down from the holding area was Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Ino, Sakura, Hinata and every other contestant. Kakashi and his fellow Jonin were preparing themselves to stop the man until Ghost stopped.

Ghost threw Kiba away, leaving him to slam into the ground face first. Ghost vanished and appeared next to Kiba, lifting his foot in preparation to break the man's skull open. That was until he was stopped by a group of Jonin. He looked up and saw Kurenai standing in front of him, as well as Neji, Shikamaru and Kakashi around him.

Kurenai was glaring at the man while she pushed away Ghost's leg. "Are you deaf or something? Kiba was already unconscious when you were about to finish him off, that wasn't within the rules!"

"So…Like I care." Ghost looked down at his left hand and opened and closed it slowly.

"You will follow the rules if you still want to participate in this exam, understood?" Neji ordered.

Ghost answered by disappearing and reappearing back in the holding area where the Leaf contestants glared.

Ghost turned his head when he could hear someone clapping; it was also then that he noticed that no one cheered. _Not that I care…Perhaps I went overboard…Nah!_

"Brutal and fast, I like your style, Ghost," Riadora said as he walked towards the hunter.

Ghost stood there, arms crossed. "You'll see more soon enough."

Riadora smiled. "We'll see."

Ghost walked to his spot and sat down; ignoring the angry glares he received from the Leaf contestants. _I can feel the Chakra tear is about to open._

"They should disqualify the bastard!" Sakura hissed as she kept glancing at Ghost who sat alone.

"I agree with you. He went too far, but perhaps that's how they were trained in their village?" Hinata asked in her soft and sweet tone.

"Trained or not he should follow the rules that were laid at his feet," Ino growled. "He's a freak; I hope he gets what's coming to him."

"I wonder how Kiba is doing," Hinata shyly pondered aloud to no one in particular, receiving nods from her friends.

_xXx_

Two hours had passed and around 14 of the contestants had already fought. Tsunade sighed but couldn't shake the dreaded feeling she had since contestant Riadora had fought. His match was a lot like that of Ghost. It was fast and in the end he ended his opponent's life without a second of thought, the sick smile he gave was what had stuck in her head.

"Tsunade…Tsunade, why the long face?" a voice asked with a bit of tease.

Tsunade turned to see her old teammate Jiraiya standing next to her with a smile. She looked closer and noticed that the years hadn't gone easy on the man. Wrinkles slowly started to appear and he had a scar across his cheek, which he didn't have the last time they met over 5 years ago.

"Jiraiya! Where the hell have you been?" Tsunade almost shouted out.

"Well…After I failed to track down Naruto, I decided to stick to the roads again…Write another book, you know, the usual."

"Cut the crap, why couldn't you let us know from time to time where you were?" the Hokage asked.

"I didn't felt the need to, after what you all did to Naruto. I would've almost beaten some sense into you, but when I heard about Naruto's disappearance I decided that finding him was more important," Jiraiya said rather coldly.

Tsunade looked at him with sad eyes. "I never wished this upon him, but they overruled me and…well, you know the rest."

"You could've fought tooth and nail for the kid! But you didn't. Instead you just let things roll past you. However, this is not the reason I've come here. That man, Ghost, isn't who he claims he is. I don't know his motives but apparently there have been reports in all major Hidden villages that there have been sightings of men dressed in dark robes with a red sash around their waist and a hood covering their face. They were all visiting the villages alone for about a week; after that week there were attacks outside the village or inside by the very same I've just described. I think that Ghost is going to plan the same thing."

Tsunade was shocked to say the least and looked towards the small signature in the holding area that was Ghost. "I want to know what he's planning. Let's observe for now."

Jiraiya nodded and grinned, "Wise choice."

At the very same moment that the two Sannin were talking, Ghost's eyes snapped open. _It's time!_

* * *

><p>And that's chapter 5! Hope you all liked the chapter!<p>

And for all fans, who love some Kiba bashing, don't expect a lot from it. :P this was a mere coincidental case.

Jutsu list:

Katon: Karyū Endan - Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb

Katon: Hōsenka - no Jutsu Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu


	6. Chapter 6: Angels and demons

I'm back! I'm sorry for the long wait I was just uhm… *thinks of excuse…* lost on the road of life..yeah that's it!

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read and review the story so far!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

I would once again like thank FantomoDrako for being an awesome beta-reader! Cheers to the good life!

Here's chapter 6 I hope you enjoy!

**I will become a Ghost Chapter 6**

* * *

><p><strong>(AN: Insert epic soundtrack Bleach-Invasion.)**

Riadora smiled. '_Finally I will become one with one of the great demons!' _He stood up and walked to the railing of the holding area.

Ghost saw him moving and knew he was about to make his move while the two other contestants were still fighting. He blinked and was shocked to find out that Riadora was gone. He hastily stood up and dashed for the railing, receiving puzzled looks from the contestants.

Kakashi noticed and turned to Sakura. "He's going to make his move."

Ghost reached the railing and already saw Riadora standing down where the two contestants were fighting. In one fluid motion he grabbed the railing with one hand and swung himself over it, he then used his feet to slide down the wall already preparing himself for what was likely his toughest fight yet.

"Ghost, what are you doing!" one of the contestants shouted but it was to no avail.

As soon as his feet touched the ground he vanished and reappeared in front of Riadora. "You will not succeed, Riadora."

"You can't handle us both Ghost," Riadora said with a chuckle.

Ghost could hear a soft swishing of air being displaced and felt a presence behind him. "So…You too can use Flashstep?"

"Of course we can. Sia, let's kill the Hunter," Riadora said, ignoring the shouts from the two contestants and the examiners.

Ghost slowly unsheathed his katana. "Let's dance!" And with that Ghost appeared behind Sia in a flash and aimed his blade at her head. She blocked with amazing speed using the sheath of her sword she still held in her hand and countered with her blade.

Ghost sidestepped the sword but managed to grab her arm. He pulled her close and quickly followed up with a hard punch to the face.

Sia grimaced as she disappeared with flashstep and appeared with three shuriken in her hand, swiftly flinging them one after another.

Ghost, who had turned his attention to Riadora, had to use flashstep to evade the incoming projectiles. He popped up behind Riadora and kicked the man's feet away and was about to make a downward strike with his blade only to find it blocked by Sia, who had rejoined the fight. He jumped out of the way and formed a single hand seal. "Fūton: Kamikaze!"

Wind formed into small tornadoes in a circle around the two Unknowns. Ghost however was already rapidly going through hand seals. "Katon: Hibashiri!"

The fire style and the wind style attacks combined with each other and formed a massive fiery hurricane destroying everything in its path.

Neji, who was the proctor, intervened and launched himself at the man.

Ghost twirled around, grabbed Neji's incoming arm and gave it a sharp twist, breaking it effectively. He followed up with a fist to the face and a kick to the abdomen, causing the Hyuuga prodigy to skid back a couple of feet before he regained himself. His face remained emotionless despite the injury he sustained and was already preparing himself for his second attack

Ghost focused his attention on the chaos behind him but inwardly he couldn't help but smirk. '_Hawke is right about one thing though, they are some real tough opponents._'

Riadora managed to escape the hurricane with flashstep. He then used the same technique to appear next to Ghost and deliver a kick to his stomach, causing the Hunter to double over in pain.

Sia appeared next to Riadora in a flash with scorched clothing and a burnt left forearm. She swung her blade savagely at her opponent.

Ghost tightened his grip on the handle and wildly swung his katana, barely blocking the incoming blade, still panting from the blow he received just moments ago. Sia, however, didn't back down and kept slamming her blade against her opponent's blade, the rain of attacks making it hard for him to stand his ground.

Sparks flung off blades as Ghost, Sia and Riadora exchanged blow after blow. Whenever Ghost saw an opening to strike one of them, it was always instantly blocked by their partner, making it near impossible to land a hit.

Ghost clashed against Sia's sword and, using it to his advantage, slammed his foot in her side.

Sia grimaced as the kick landed and backed away. Riadora appeared in the space she vacated and took her place continuing the attack, with the intent to wear him down.

The hunter inwardly cursed as he continued blocking the incoming swipes and stabs. He threw a kick which Riadora blocked with his wrist and countered with his blade.

Ghost, in return, barely evaded and struck with his own blade, aimed for the Unknown's head.

His attack was stopped by Sia who had rejoined the fight. The hunter glanced to the right where a swipe from Riadora was aimed for his neck.

Ghost was suddenly left with no choice and retracted his sword from Sia's blade to block the incoming slash. The move had left him open and he was unable to block Sia's next attack; he closed his eyes for a brief moment. '_Crap…'_

Sia made a downward blow. Hearing the disgusting sound of tearing flesh Ghost dared to look at his right shoulder and saw the deep wound, with Sia's blade still through it.

**(A/N: End soundtrack)**

"You're done, Ghost. It was a short but entertaining dance," Riadora said with his usual smile. He turned around and looked at the incoming Leaf shinobi, vanishing from his spot. A second later he reappeared at the same spot, sheathing his sword. The Leaf shinobi fell to the ground almost simultaneously, dead, with their throats slit or with their vital organs pierced.

"They're a nuisance. Sia, I'm going to start the ritual, cover me," Riadora ordered.

Sia nodded and retracted her sword, ignoring the hiss of pain that escaped Ghost's mouth, and took a protective stance behind Riadora.

Riadora formed a strange hand sign and held it there as chakra started swirling around him. Softly he started talking in an unknown language and a pattern became visible on the ground.

Kakashi and several members of the Konoha 11 appeared on the arena floor. Kakashi swiftly moved towards the kneeling Ghost. "What's going on here!"

"What's going on here will most likely result in the destruction of your pathetic village. You need to form a barrier around the arena if you even want to-" His words were cut short as he grimaced at the constant stabbing pain in his shoulder.

"Why, and what is he do-" Sakura tried to ask but was rudely interrupted.

"Haruno, you need to shut up and do what I tell you to if you want to continue living in this village. I don't care what happens, only that those two die. So hurry it up!"

Sakura glared with narrowed eyes, filled with hate. "I should beat the crap out of you!"

Kakashi glanced at the two red robed figures. "He's right, set up a barrier and inform Tsunade what's going on!"

In a puff of smoke Jiraiya appeared next to Kakashi. "What's going on?"

Kakashi turned to Jiraiya at the same moment four people took up a position in the four corners of the battle area. "No time to explain. Just know that those contestants there are a threat to the village!"

"Alright, and what about our friend here?"

Kakashi grabbed a kunai. "He's our ally for the moment," he said in a neutral tone that gave nothing away and dashed off towards Sia. Jiraiya followed closely behind.

All of the spectators ran for the exit, screaming and climbing over each other the moment they saw the barrier form, scared of another attack like all those years ago during the chunin exams. It did not take long for everyone to evacuate, leaving only the shinobi inside.

Ghost looked down at his arm with the metal claw around his hand. He opened and closed it as a red swirl appeared around it. He clenched his fist tightly and with another fast swirl his arm changed into something horrifying.

Sakura and several others who were still standing in front of Ghost gasped, excluding Sasuke whose eyes only widened. "What is that?" Sasuke asked in a surprised tone.

Ghost stood up again, completely ignoring his shoulder. **"This is my kekkei genkai." **He saw that Kakashi and Jiraiya were both fighting Sia simultaneously and they were slowly gaining ground. He used flashstep and appeared in front of Riadora, about to strike him down when Sia interfered. She had apparently slammed Kakashi in the ground and temporarily evaded Jiraiya long enough to lend some assistance to her partner.

"It seems that you still have some fight left in you, and I must say that demonic arm of yours is impressive. But that is no kekkei genkai."

"**How would you know if this is a kekkei genkai or not?" **Ghost asked in his demonic voice.

"Because…It is the same thing we seek, you're a demon! How can you deny us something you hold yourself?"

"**It wasn't my decision to carry this burden. However, you will use those powers to destroy the shinobi world. I cannot allow this."**

"It doesn't matter if you'll allow it or not, you'll be dead soon anyway!" And with that she disappeared from sight.

Ghost vanished as well and the sound of clashing metal could be heard throughout the arena.

Kakashi, who had pushed himself off the ground, watched the battle. He, along with Sasuke, were barely able to follow their movements with their Sharingan.

"This is ridiculous! They are going too fast to follow!" Ino exclaimed.

Jiraiya appeared in a puff of smoke next to Hinata. "I can follow them but barely; can you with your Byakugan?"

"I can only see glimpses of their chakra," Hinata calmly said as her eyes darted from the left to the right.

There was a pummeling sound and soon after Sia crashed into the ground leaving a small crater. Ghost turned to Riadora and vanished. He appeared behind Riadora and tried to pierce him with his blade, but was yet again blocked by Sia.

Ghost used his right hand and punched Sia in the face before kneeing her in the stomach and made a third strike with his now free blade; he pierced her side and then slammed his elbow in her face, causing her to fall to the ground.

"**You're finished,"** Ghost said as he grabbed the handle of his katana and aimed his blade above the back of her head.

"Ri-Riadora will kill you!" she managed to say between her coughing.

"**Possible, but doubtful." **And with those words he rammed his blade through her skull and into the ground, blood and brains spattered everywhere, killing her instantly. Seconds later he jerked his head towards Riadora because his mind screamed it. He saw Riadora with a blood red glow around his body. '_Am I too late?'_

He retracted his blade from Sia's skull and attacked Riadora. The now red robed demon holder turned to Ghost and grabbed the blade with his hand which was now the same as Ghost's left hand; he pulled Ghost to him and swung his fist.

Ghost managed to barely evade it and looked in his eyes which were now dark red, pupils barely visible. He stepped a couple of feet back and formed hand signs at an astounding speed before placing his hand in front of his mouth. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" **he announced as a humongous fireball engulfed Riadora.

"**Fūton: Kami Oroshi."** A blast of wind overpowered the fireball and send it back the way it came leaving Ghost wide open for a second wind attack that his foe had send immediately after.

With barely enough time to cross his arms in front of him the wind blast engulfed him and slammed him against the barrier.

Once the attack died down Ghost fell to his knees and panted heavily. He stood up and formed a handsign. **"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" **A dragon made out of flames dashed towards the red robed demon holder and was about to incinerate him when he countered.

"**Fūton: Atsugai!"** A massive tornado-like wind attack slammed into the dragon and the two forces struggled for dominance though they appeared evenly matched.

There was a moment of silence before the two jutsu's intertwined and exploded. The leaf shinobi had to cover their eyes because of the bright flashing light.

"How is it even possible? A Wind jutsu against a Fire jutsu and they canceled each other out," Sakura shouted.

"If they both place an equal amount of chakra in their attacks then this is the most likely result," Shikamaru said with a serious tone. Apparently the battle that was taking place in front of his eyes was enough to rouse the man out of his laziness.

Sakura blinked and nodded, returning her gaze to the battlefield.

"Riadora has increased his power exponentially, his entire chakra system has changed, his body is pumping the chakra at a much faster rate and the color…it's different than we usually see… It must have to do something with the strange markings on the ground," Neji said, a bit confused though he was trying to keep track of everything as best he could.

The smoke cleared and Riadora didn't have a scratch on him.

Ghost however did. His hood was almost completely gone revealing his bandana and sunglasses, as well as his facemask. You could see red glowing eyes behind his sunglasses. The left sleeve of his shirt was also gone revealing his bare arm and wounded shoulder which was now bleeding even more profusely.

"**You don't look so good, Ghost. I won't think anything less of you if you retreat,"** Riadora calmly said with a demonic voice similar to Ghost's.

"**I'd rather die." **And with that they both disappeared again, sounds of metal clashing heard everywhere.

"That guy…Ghost, he sure wants to keep his identity hidden," Ino said as she noticed his bandana and sunglasses.

"It's such a shame and so un-youthful!" Gai roared

Everyone sweat dropped except for Lee who pumped his fist in the air with flaming eyes.

"I wonder who he really is…" Jiraiya pondered.

"Most likely someone very well known, possibly listed in the bingo book," Sakura suggested.

"I don't know about that Sakura, because if Ghost is just an alias it wouldn't make any sense since his alias is listed as well," Jiraiya responded before running a hand through his hair.

"If this continues we'll find out soon enough," Neji butted in.

Riadora slammed in to the ground but retaliated by throwing three shuriken in the air, towards his opponent. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With this cry his shuriken multiplied into the hundreds.

Ghost wildly swung his katana in an effort to block the incoming projectiles. Some hit their mark but he didn't give in and nonetheless continued slamming his katana against the shuriken, cutting them in half or knocking them out of the way. Once he landed he fell to one knee and panted heavily, a few feet away from the Unknown.

Ghost's eyes widened when Riadora used flashstep and appeared next to him, slamming his fist into his face and breaking his sunglasses.

Ghost literally flew through the air and bounced off against the ground before coming to a skidding halt, mere feet away from Kakashi and the rest.

He stood up and pulled any shuriken that were still embedded in his body out and threw them to the ground. He also threw the remains of his glasses away, revealing his blood red eyes with slitted pupils.

'_I'm in a situation I thought I'd never be in. I still haven't used the Rasengan or the Rasenshuriken, but Kakashi might figure it out somehow and if he doesn't then the Nara probably will. This sucks…But I have to win no matter what. Even if that means…revealing my identity.__'_

Ghost stood up on wobbly legs before gasping in pain as Riadora attacked him again, slamming his fist in Ghost's stomach and then grabbing his throat, lifting him in the air. **"****You are nothing Hunter. Now, let's see what's under your disguise.****"**

Ghost managed to grab a kunai and stuck it in Riadora's shoulder, which he in return completely ignored.

Seeing that the identity of Ghost was about to be released Kakashi couldn't help but feel curious. The few times he had seen the black robed man he often thought what was underneath that hood and now he was about to find out.

Sakura and Sasuke were thinking along the same lines and were waiting for Riadora to reveal his identity.

With his free hand, Riadora grabbed the bandana and pulled it off, revealing bright blonde hair. And with one quick motion he also tore off the facemask. **"Now then! I still don't know why you hide your face, or the other Hunters for that matter, but it doesn't matter anymore."** He grabbed his katana and rammed it through Ghost's ribs, breaking two of them. He then kicked Ghost away who fell to the ground hacking up blood.

The Leaf group still didn't see his face and were quite anxious, but they weren't planning to move in to assist.

"Maybe we should help?" Hinata asked.

"He started this fight, let him finish it," Sasuke said as he crossed his arms.

Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke's right; he's still standing, once he goes down we'll take over."

"Against that guy? Haven't you seen how strong he is?" Tenten exclaimed.

Ghost slowly stood up, his eyes flickering between red and blue. **"Yo**u'**re **g**oo**d, **better **t**ha**n me. **I doubt **I'l**l **be able **to d**efeat you…" Ghost said as his voice slowly turned back to normal.

He grabbed his katana from the ground and looked at his left hand which had returned back to its human form. "Figures…" And he vanished from sight and slammed his fist into Riadora's face.

Riadora retaliated quickly by ramming his own fist into Ghost's wound at his ribcage.

Ghost doubled over and spat out blood. He looked at his reflection on his blade which was stuck in the ground. '_My whisker marks are still visible…as are my red eyes. Damn…'_

"Alright…I guess I'll have to use my best jutsu then."

Tsunade walked towards the railing and tried to look closer at the dark robed man named Ghost. She looked at his hair and in the back of her mind something was bugging her, the man looked familiar, but she just couldn't place it.

Riadora looked at him and smiled. **"And what might that be Hunter?"**

"This." He held his hand up and channeled chakra into it. A blue-white orb appeared in his hand and then grew until it took form of a shuriken.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "That looks like…."

Jiraiya had a look of shock written on his face as well. "Is that what I think it is?"

Sakura had a puzzled look on her face. "What is it?"

Shikamaru looked at both Kakashi and Jiraiya "It looks a lot like the fourth Hokage's Rasengan."

"You're right, Shikamaru. That jutsu is very similar to a jutsu the fourth Hokage used. A more advanced form to be precise," Kakashi responded.

"The fourth Hokage?" Sakura asked surprised.

"I've never used it before on anyone, so believe me when I say that this is the last thing you'll ever see, Riadora. This dance is finished," Ghost announced with a strained face, blood seeping down his face, over his right eye.

Ghost charged the Unknown who vanished to dodge the attack. Ghost followed and appeared beside him, slamming his attack in Riadora's side. "Rasenshuriken!"

Riadora screamed in pure agony as he felt his bones splinter and his organs destroyed under the immense power of the Rasenshuriken.

The unknown flew backwards and slammed against the far wall. He weakly coughed and blood poured out of his mouth. "I-i-in-indeed…It is…H-H-hunter. A w-worthy foe…you s…" He couldn't manage to utter his last words as he closed his eyes, never to open them again.

Ghost nodded and cradled his now severely broken arm. He grabbed a piece of clothing and tore it off. He then tied it around his lower face to cover his whisker marks, which was rather difficult with one hand.

He grabbed his sword and threw a quick glance at his reflection in the blade. Satisfied that his most notable features were covered, he sheathed his sword, walked towards Riadora's body, swung it over his shoulder and then moved towards Sia's body.

He dropped Riadora's body on the ground and searched for the trademark tattoo. Once he found it he gently placed his fingers on it and closed his eyes. A dark red swirl appeared around his hand and flowed into his left arm; he grimaced but kept it in place. Once the swirls stopped he shuddered but stood up._ 'A medium ranked demon…why am I not surprised.'_

Kakashi, Sasuke and Jiraiya stood next to him with surprised looks on their faces. "What did you just do?"

Ghost glanced at Sia but couldn't find the tattoo. He unsheathed two scrolls he was carrying and with a hand sign sealed both the bodies away. "Nothing that concerns you… Toad sage. You can drop the barrier now…" The blonde said without looking to his former sensei.

Kakashi nodded and the barrier was reluctantly dropped.

"You know who I am?" Jiraiya asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Who doesn't? One of the legendary Sannin. That makes you the third and final member I've met," Ghost said as he stood up, placing the scrolls back on the belt around his waist.

"You've met Orochimaru?" Kakashi asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah…slippery bastard…Managed to get away with his loyal pet, Kabuto," Ghost answered, while he inwardly sighed in relief that they hadn't recognized him. '_My hair is a dead giveaway, but then again it is longer and isn't defying gravity… since it's now dangling around my face.'_

"Yeah…we know who Kabuto is, any Intel on him or Orochimaru would be greatly appreciated," Kakashi said with a smile, hoping to get some info.

"Last time I saw him he was in the grass country, but that was over five months ago. So I doubt that will be of much use, Copycat. If that's all…I'm heading out." Ghost turned around and walked to the exit, only to be blocked by the Hokage. "Hokage, is there something you want from me?"

Tsunade glared at him. "An explanation would be nice. Who were those two? Why did you attack them and what for? What threat did they pose to us?"

Ghost looked at her incredulously. "I'll answer one."

Tsunade couldn't believe what she was hearing. "One? What about all of them, and if I like what you have to say I'll think about what kind of sentence you will receive."

"Have it your way," Ghost said and flickered away.

Tsunade growled and marched towards the Leaf shinobi, shouting orders to take care of the bodies and to send out hunter-nin in search of the mercenary.

Ghost appeared about a mile away from the village and fell to his knees exhausted._ 'Using a single flashstep for one mile is very tough in its own, but using it while in my current state is just exhausting.'_

He stood up, stretched his muscles and groaned as it only intensified the pain he already felt. He ignored the stabbing pain in his wrist and walked deeper into the forest, heading back to Tova.

xXx

Rome growled as he retracted he blade from the man's eyeball. A tough fight it was, two of them against him alone. On top of that the Rock-nin butted in. He looked down at the bearded man. '_Tough fight.'_ He glanced down at his arm which had a number of deep cuts. His ankle was broken and his kneecap was shattered. He groaned in pain. '_Time to head home.'_

He sealed the bodies away in a scroll and headed out, ignoring the awkward looks of the bystanders. He took one last look at the scene and saw bodies everywhere. He closed his eyes for a moment. '_The Rock should not have involved themselves with this fight. Better get out of here fast before they send in the big guns.'_

Four days later, Tova village

Ghost walked across the streets towards the inn. He had patched himself up with some first aid bandages to cover up the worst wounds. He had just laid his hand on the door handle when he heard someone call his name and turned around.

He saw Rome limping towards him. "What happened to you?" the bald man asked.

Ghost shrugged. "You know…had an argument with a door and lost."

Rome grinned. "Me too…me too. Let's head inside, see if Mayu can patch us up."

Ghost nodded, opened the doors and went inside.

They walked towards their well-known spot no one else dared to touch and saw Mayu and Micheru sitting at the table chatting. They looked up at the newcomers and the chatter died down.

Mayu stood up and glanced at their posture. They were exhausted and wounded. She shook her head. "I take it they were tough?"

Rome made a weak attempt to smile. "Something like that, yeah." He slowly sat down and Ghost leaned on the edge of the table.

"So how was it?" Mayu asked.

"Like I wrote in my letter, there were two Unknowns. I fought them in the arena to minimize the threat of civilian casualties. They both were a lot tougher than the scouts, which we already knew, but the moment one of them merged with the demon he became almost unstoppable. I won, barely, and with luck," Ghost told the group.

"I had more luck though; they were both very strong without having merged with a demon. I won using my Tipora when they both attacked me from the same spot, which guaranteed me victory - I won by a stroke of luck. If they had come from both directions during their final attack I wouldn't have been able to take them both out with Tipora, only one, leaving me open for a counter attack, killing me," Rome tiredly told as he was being treated by Mayu. "I managed to stop them before they could become one with a demon."

Micheru walked towards Ghost and stood next to him. She placed her hands upon his wounded shoulder and started to heal him.

"Arigato, your name was Micheru, right?" Ghost asked, his voice laced with pain and exhaustion.

"Yeah, one of the newcomers, never seen you before the meeting from a week ago though. I heard a lot about you, Ghost."

Ghost smirked. "If you talked about it with Hawke then it can't be good."

Micheru chuckled. "No, it was Robatsu and Rome mostly."

"So what did they tell?"

"That you weren't always as you are now," she hesitantly said, glancing at his face.

Ghost, who had his eyes closed, stayed silent.

Micheru continued, "That you used to be quite a loud mouth and a happy person."

Mayu and Rome stayed silent as they watched the conversation from the corner of their eyes while Mayu patched him up.

"Things change… And who says I'm not happy?" Ghost said as he opened his eyes, catching her own in his gaze.

Micheru placed her hands upon his wound between his lower ribs. "From what I've heard and seen you always seem distant and cold. Why?"

"Because I need to be."

"Why?"

Ghost gave a smile, a real smile. "I'll tell you sometime."

"I'll hold you to it," Micheru chuckled. "Okay, I've healed the wound in your shoulder and between your lower ribs, but your rib fractures are impossible to heal. Also your wrist was broken in multiple places; I fixed it as best I could, but it won't be enough in a fight. You'll have to take it easy for a while."

"Tell that to Mayu." Ghost stood up and ordered a plate full of sake dishes and returned back to the table.

"Nice, that'll finish the job which Mayu couldn't fix," Rome joked as he grabbed a dish of sake and downed it.

Ghost did the same and then sat down, propped his feet up against the table and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes and appeared to doze off.

Rome smirked and Mayu just shook her head amusingly.

Micheru grabbed a cup of sake and eyed suspiciously before she drank it as well. "Ugh! Nasty! How can you drink this stuff?"

"The better question is, Micheru… How can't you drink this?" Ghost mumbled without opening his eyes.

Micheru tilted her head and giggled.

"You'll learn to drink it eventually, kid," Rome butted in with a grin.

"I'm worried I will."

Ghost mumbled something incoherently and fell asleep.

xXx

Couple of hours later, Dusk

Ghost jerked awake. "Something's wrong."

Mayu and Rome jerked their head towards the door. "It's Hawke and Raipa."

Micheru, who wasn't experienced with chakra detection, had a puzzled look on her face.

"They are just outside the village; Hawke's chakra signature is very weak. Ghost, check it out and meet up at my house."

Ghost nodded and ran for the door, leaving it wide open in his departure.

Ghost sprinted across the market and headed for the gate. Within moments he passed through the gates and into the forest,ignoring the nightfall that was settling in.

After a couple of minutes he had found Hawke and Raipa. He was slightly shocked at what he saw.

Hawke had a bloody, bandaged shoulder and chest. Hawke was as white as a ghost and appeared unconscious and sweaty.

Raipa, who had a large cut across his cheek and had severe burns across his lower left arm, carried him.

"Ghost! Good zing you found us, eet would've taken me forever to make eet to ze village. 'Awke needs immediate medical 'elp. I patched 'im up as best I could but I'm not very good at 'ealing. We need Mayu for 'im to 'ave a surviving chance," Raipa said with his odd accent.

Ghost nodded, grabbed Hawke and swung him over his shoulder. He grabbed Raipa's wrist and disappeared with flashstep using his low amount of chakra he had managed to restore.

They appeared in an alleyway and quickly made their way to Mayu's house, staying away from as many villagers as possible. Using the alleyways of the small village they arrived at the house within a matter of minutes and saw the group waiting for them.

They lead them inside the humble house and Ghost laid Hawke on the dining table, which Mayu had cleared. He then walked towards the window and closed the curtains, which caused some of the group to raise their eyebrows. Ghost shrugged. "Can't be too careful."

Mayu ripped the remains of Hawke's shirt apart and went to work. "What happened, Raipa?"

"I don't know, Mayu. I 'ad luck with my Unknown; I encountered 'im on ze road leading to ze village and, while 'e 'adn't merged with a demon, 'e was still immensely strong and very capable at fire style jutsu. When I finally killed 'im, I 'eaded for the Wind Country after I recuperated and found 'Awke in a near death state," Raipa told the group.

"So the Unknown still lives?" Rome asked.

Raipa nodded. "Most likely, I wonder what 'is plan is now zat 'e's got a clear view of ze village."

Mayu wiped the sweat from her forehead as she healed Hawke's wound. "Okay, from this point on it's all up to him."

Ghost, who sat on the couch with Raipa standing next to him, were looking at each other. They nodded and Ghost stood up.

Rome noticed the sudden movements and smiled.

Ghost walked towards the table behind the couch. "Alright, I'm heading for the Wind Country with Raipa. We will contact you upon elimination of the target."

Rome nodded, "Good hunting."

Micheru stood there dumbfounded. "You're kidding, right?"

Raipa grinned. "You want to come along, no?"

Mayu shook her head and intervened. "That's not a wise choice; she hasn't had any real combat experience against one of them before so she'll need to improve before she can go out on a mission."

"Mayu-san, wouldn't it be wise for them to recuperate first?" Micheru asked while glancing at Ghost and Raipa.

Mayu nodded. "It would, but the man must be taken out as soon as possible. Are you sure you two want this? We can't send any back up, so you're on your own."

Ghost looked at Raipa who nodded. "Of course, Mayu-san." He looked down at Hawke's face and narrowed his eyes. "Mayu, can I use one of your bedrooms to shower and change?"

Mayu smiled. "Sure, go ahead, upstairs first door on the left, bathroom's connected to the bedroom."

Ghost went upstairs and closed the door behind him. He sat down on the bed and grasped his head with both hands.

"_Don't! Please!"_

"_How can you kill us for what we are?"_

"_Mister? What's going on?"_

He slapped his head. "Get…Out…Of…my head," he said to himself, trying to ignore the voices in his head. He grabbed the remains of his shirt and tore it off. He walked towards the mirror and looked at his reflection.

He looked at his chest, the long scar that crossed his right chest in particular. He then looked at the bandages on his right shoulder and the ones around his waist. He sighed and glanced at his tattoo that twirled around in strange markings around his left shoulder and down to his elbow. '_Who would've thought by touching that tattoo all those years ago would not only kill Kyuubi but also__trigger's my greatest power…' _He shrugged off his thoughts and grabbed a special marked scroll which contained his outfit.

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him; unknown to him that Rome was standing outside, leaning on the wall next to the door.

xXx

Kakashi jumped from tree to tree. For the past four days they were searching for the man that had caused chaos during the Jonin exams. They had found traces of blood but the trail had stopped suddenly; they had assumed he either used that flash trick or that he had bandaged his wounds.

Asuma caught up with him and shook his head. "There's no trace of him. He must have escaped."

Kakashi glanced at the ground and nodded, "Let's contact the others and head back."

"Ino and Gai have already turned back, I'll pop a flare to let the others know that we're heading back," Asuma noted. He looked deeper in the forest and sighed before reaching in his pouch to pop a green flare. "You think he's a Merc? That he was here to assassinate those two because someone paid him to do it?"

Kakashi turned around and slowly headed back to the village, which was a day's travel at the very least. "I don't know, everything leads us to that conclusion, but the man…Riadora, something happened, he changed into something unnatural…Just like Ghost did, they must have a connection of some sort. It must have something to do with their lower arms."

"Lower arm?" Asuma asked in surprise.

"Didn't you see what happened?"

Asuma shook his head.

"It changed into something…demonic," Kakashi said as he ducked underneath a low hanging tree branch.

"Demonic?" Asuma asked with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Yep, demonic…" Kakashi sighed.

xXx

Ghost walked down the stairs and into the living room. He had his facemask pulled down and his hood pulled back, but his bandana was covering his hair. Raipa was talking with Rome in his replaced full gear. He saw Ghost and gave a nod.

Ghost returned the gesture and stood next to Mayu. "How's he doing?" he asked as he looked down at Hawke.

Mayu looked at Ghost's face, which she had rarely seen. She had only seen him a few times when he was younger and under the tutelage of Hawke. "Still unsure, but it's Hawke we're talking about, he'll pull through."

Ghost nodded as he absently opened and closed his hand with the metal claw around it, which he always did when he was lost in thought.

"I hope someday you'll tell us why you wear that thing besides the fact that it's useful," she told him with a smile.

Ghost looked at her and smiled. "Who knows?" He walked to Raipa, who just finished checking his equipment. "Ready to go?" the curly mustached man asked.

"Let's go," Ghost responded.

Micheru walked into the living room and gave them both a nod and a smile. "Be careful and kick his ass!"

"Mademoiselle, 'e won't stand a chance against us. When we're done with 'im zere leader 'imself will zink twice before messing with us again, isn't zat right Ghost?" Raipa told her as he played with his moustache.

Ghost just shook his head in slight amusement and opened the front door. "We'll be back in a few, take care." And with that he and Raipa left.

"Watch your six, that guy is no pushover!" Rome shouted towards their retreating backs.

Mayu chuckled as she sat down on the couch next to Rome. "Rome, head back to the inn with Micheru and wait for the others there."

Rome nodded and waved with his hand, letting Micheru know to follow him.

* * *

><p>Edit: some may have noticed that i uploaded this chapter three times. somehow Fanfiction keeps adjusting some of the text.<p>

**Example-A ** Example-A's line keeps dissapearing making it somewhat more difficult to read as you obviously found out.

I dont know why Fanfiction edits this but i can't fix it for the time being. i'll adjust it in the next chapter.

Chapter 6 finished!

Hope you all liked it, and before you ask, no I'm not done yet with the Leaf…In fact, they still have a major part to play throughout the story so everyone who hopes on when Naruto is going to reveal his identity or if he's going to at all will just have to be patient!

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu

Fūton: Kami Oroshi - Wind Style: Divine Down Current

Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shuriken shadow clones.

Fūton: Atsugai - Wind Style: Gale Force

Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu - Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu

Okay screw the no begging for reviews rule.

*falls to his knees and starts begging* Please review!


	7. Chapter 7: Lucky number six!

*looks up from his book, the infamous Icha icha paradise volume 2*

I'm back! I'm terribly sorry that it has taken so long and I'll make sure it never happens again, you see I was so addicted to the book that I forgot all about you, now do you see why Kakashi is always late?

I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed the story, adding the story to their favorites and of course the alerts! You all rock!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

As usual, the amazing FantomoDrako has read over the chapter and fixed my mistakes! You have my thanks!

Here's chapter I hope you enjoy!

_'Thoughts'_

"**Demonic voice"**

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 7**

* * *

><p>Ghost slammed back-first against a rock and slumped down. He looked towards Raipa, who ducked underneath a fist before being hit by the other one. '<em>This is ridiculous! How strong is that guy?'<em>

Ghost stood up, using the big rock as support. He looked down at his demonic claw, which had its usual black color. As he sprinted towards his opponent his claw formed into a fist. He swung it at the Unknown who called himself Six.

Six grinned and grabbed Ghost's incoming arm. **"Just give up already, there's nothing you can do to stop us."**

Ghost scoffed through his partly destroyed facemask; the left side was dangling loosely, showing the corner of his mouth. He swung his foot and hit Six in the side. Six in return completely ignored the blow and instead tightened his hold on the Hunter's arm, his demonic claw digging in.

Ghost kicked again and again, hoping to crack his ribs, but the man in front of him felt like he was made out of steel and instead he only hurt his foot. **"Are you wearing metal plating under your shirt…?" **he asked sarcastically.

Six ignored him and retaliated by kneeing him in the gut, releasing his hold on the man's arm.

Ghost fell to his knees and cradled his stomach. He looked up and dodged just in time, barely escaping a vertical slice from Six's hatchet.

"Chidori Senbon!"

Six turned his head towards the shouting and had to jump back to avoid the incoming senbon.

Raipa ran towards Ghost, who just had regained himself and stood up. He grabbed his katana from his back and unsheathed it; he looked at the blade which shone brightly in the burning sun. **"Thanks for the save; let's attack him at the same time, from opposite sides, limiting his options."**

Raipa nodded as he ignored the change in Ghost's voice and arm and instead they both ran towards Six, who stood there casually with a hatchet in both his hands.

The moment they were within striking distance they both flickered away and appeared on either side of the Unknown.

Raipa struck first, with a fist to the head, and wrapped his feet around his opponent's ankle, making him immobile. Six tried to counter the attack by swinging his hatchet at Raipa's head. Ghost intervened and blocked it with his katana, pushing the attack away and immediately retaliating with one of his own. Six blocked with both his hatchets and gained ground despite Raipa, who had launched a barrage of punches to the man's side.

With Six partially immobilized, Ghost and Six were in a stalemate trying to overpower each other with brute force. Ghost grunted and repositioned his hand in front of Six's abdomen. **"Chakra…Push!"**

Six, now released by Raipa, got blasted away by the attack and slammed against a rock. He shook his head and stood up, grabbing his two fallen hatchets and placing them against each other. **"Unify."** Dark red swirls twirled around the two hatchets, covering them from the naked eye, with a flash of light that erupted seconds later. Ghost covered his eyes and winced at the pain in his optic nerves.

Raipa also had trouble with his eyes, closing one of them and partially covering the other. "What ze 'ell is 'e up to now!"

Ghost remained silent and decided to attack again. He charged the Unknown and swung his katana.

The swirls disappeared and a battleaxe had taken the place of the two hatchets. The battleaxe had a curved blade. One of the curves also had three sharp spikes to inflict maximum internal damage. The handle itself also had two curved blades, covering Six's hand.

Six swung his battleaxe in response, cutting Ghost's katana in half, in less than a second Ghost realized that the battleaxe was probably made out of stronger material.

Six then swung again horizontally in one fluid motion, trying to do the same to Ghost as he did to his katana.

Ghost's eyes widened and he stumbled back.

Six grinned as he swung the heavy battleaxe again, but this time Raipa intervened and he had his short swords crossed, effectively blocking the battleaxe, but the brute power started making cracks in the two blades. "Move, Ghost!"

Ghost dove out of the way, as did Raipa, and the battleaxe slammed in the ground, causing sand to fly everywhere.

Six dashed through the sand with a maniacal look on his face; he slammed his fist in Raipa's face, who slammed into the ground, unable to move. Ghost tried to retaliate. **"Chakra-" **He was cut off when Six flickered away and appeared behind him, jackhammering him into the ground causing sand to fly up once again.

Ghost coughed up blood and tried to stand up.

"**You Hunters are nothing! You are nothing! Ghost, I will enjoy sucking every last bit of chakra out of your body along with your soul!"** Six cackled as he slammed the heel of his boot down on Ghost's back.

Ghost clenched his teeth in response, not allowing a single cry of pain to escape his lips. He grabbed a handful of sand and shut his eyes as the man kicked him again.

Six grabbed his battleaxe he had carried on his back and swung it underhand with the spikes pointed towards Ghost.

Ghost flew through the air crying out in pain, the three spikes had been rammed in his left upper thigh and side.

Six's eyes followed Ghost with a look of glee on his face.

Ghost slammed face first into the ground and lost consciousness upon impact, his arm changing back to its normal form because of it.

Raipa staggered to his feet and his eyes darted to Ghost's still form. "Ah damn, zis is not good.…" He looked at his cracked swords and threw them to the ground. He pushed himself off the ground and used his speed to try and gain the advantage.

Six turned to him with a grin. **"****Want to meet your undertaker? You need look no further!****" ** He dodged the first two attacks and sidestepped a kick to his side, twirling his axe around and using it to block the kunai, and countered by slamming the butt of his axe against Raipa's face.

Raipa jumped back. He groaned and reached for his now broken nose. "bow blow!" He mumbled, unable to pronounce words properly.

Six appeared in front of him in a flash. Raipa barely had enough time to bring his arms up before the barrage of punches started.

When the beating finally stopped, Six pulled Raipa into the air by his neck and prepared to crush his windpipe.

"Fūton: Hanachiri Mai," a voice weakly said.

The voice may have been weak but the attack wasn't. A cyclone of sand rushed towards Six and Raipa.

Six dropped Raipa, who had lost consciousness moments after being hoisted aloft. Six, however, didn't know that the cyclone followed him and it slammed into his back and into the ground.

Six tumbled across the ground but regained himself and used his hand to flip back onto his feet - the entire upper left side of his robe was destroyed, and his right sleeve was gone as well. He panted slightly and then straightened his back. **"****Tsk tsk tsk, a damn low blow, Ghost…Damn …****" **

Ghost slowly stood up and held his wounded side, panting heavily. "Screw…you… Everything's allowed in…war," he breathed heavily between his words.

"**That it is.****" ** Six flickered away and slammed his left foot against Ghost's wounded side.

Ghost grunted and tried to gain some distance.

Six grabbed Ghost by the collar and pulled him into the air. **"****You're a demon as well, Ghost. It's time you pass your powers to me!****"**

Ghost struggled and tried to free himself from his grasp but it was to no avail. Six placed his free hand over Ghost's mouth and a strange painful feeling shot through his body; it felt like something was leaving his body.

Ghost struggled for a few more minutes before his hands limply fell to his side.

Six grinned like a madman. **"****Just a few more sec-****" **He was cut off when a medium-sized bird flew into his field of vision and exploded, blasting him away. Ghost got blasted away as well, only to be caught by a huge white dragon.

Six regained his wits and pushed himself off the ground. He looked up and saw the white dragon with Ghost in one of his claws and Raipa in his other. Standing on top of the dragon was what looked like a male with long blond hair drawn in a half ponytail; Six glanced at his clothing and saw that he wore a cloak with red cloud patterns on it. **"****Akatsuki…****"** he whispered.

Six felt a presence behind him and dove out of the way, barely dodging the iron tail. After he stood up he saw a small man standing there, in an unnatural form. **"****Why is Akatsuki interfering?****"**

The small man slowly walked towards his opponent. "None of your damn business - now stop asking stupid questions and fight, you are wasting my time." And with that the man swung his tail.

Six narrowly evaded it and grabbed the tail, swinging the Akatsuki member away to crash into the sand.

Six looked up and his eyes widened.

Hundreds of small birds flew straight for him, until…

"Art is like an explosion!"

All of the birds exploded and engulfed the Unknown.

The white dragon landed on the ground and released Ghost and Raipa from its grasp. They both lay on the ground; Raipa who had momentarily regained consciousness glanced at his friend and saw that he had too was out of it. He sighed in relief when he felt a pulse and slowly lied back down and closed his eyes again.

The blonde man grinned and sent his dragon towards the cloud of smoke. The dragon dove into it and exploded, causing an even larger explosion than before.

Six stumbled out of the smoke, bleeding badly. His robe was gone revealing his bare chest, his pants were ragged and blood seeped through them. He dodged the tail and flickered out of sight, appearing beside the blonde Akatsuki member. He slammed his fist against the man's face. The man skidded a few feet before coming to a halt. He held his hand in front of his left eye, grabbed something, and tore it off before throwing it to the ground.

Six noticed and saw that he was throwing some sort of metal device to the ground. He then casually walked towards his axe, which was lying on the ground, untouched by recent battles.

He twirled around with his axe in his hand and slammed it against the incoming iron tail, cutting it in half.

In one quick motion he grabbed the remaining half, still attached to the short tempered Akatsuki member, and gave it a pull.

The Akatsuki member gritted his teeth. "Deidara, what are you waiting for!"

Deidara was already out of sight and was standing on a large bird with his hand in a single hand sign. "It's over!"

Six narrowed his eyes before looking down at his feet, where a large white snake had wrapped around his legs. He closed his eyes and sighed.

The snake exploded and with that it tore Six's legs clean off. The man's scream of pain was cut off by the explosion.

Raipa grunted as he slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't see clearly but could distinctively make out two dark clothed men standing before what looked to be a person. He placed his hands beneath his body and pushed himself up. He saw Ghost lying beside him and he immediately checked for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he felt what he was looking for.

He tapped Ghost on the face but he was unresponsive. Raipa slowly walked towards the two black robed men. "Who ze hell are you two?"

They both turned around and Deidara grinned. "My name is Deidara and my man here is Sasori, we're both from the Akatsuki, Hn.

Raipa gave a nod as he held his nose. "Zose clouds on your robes are a dead giveaway. Anyway, why is ze Akatsuki fighting against ze Unknown?"

"Because they are a threat to everyone in the Elemental countries… Even to us," Sasori grunted.

They heard a groan and turned their attention to the near-dead man lying on the ground, missing both his legs.

Raipa stumbled towards the prone body and looked down upon Six. "You're still alive? Let's change zat."

He held his hand up and lightning started forming around his hand. The sound of a thousand birds erupted. "Chidori," he uttered and then he slammed his Chidori through the Unknown's heart.

Raipa looked into his eyes and stood up. He walked away before collapsing to his knees, panting heavily. "Zat's zat. Zanks for ze 'elp." He shakily stood up and walked over towards Ghost's still body.

"We'll help you carry him towards your base of operations at Tova," Deidara offered reluctantly.

At this Raipa took a sharp intake of breath. "'Ow…do you know zat…No one's supposed to know."

"Relax, your friend Hawke is somewhat related to us. But don't worry; we're not your enemies. For now…"

Raipa considered his options but he doubted he could carry Ghost all the way back to Tova. "I guess I don't 'ave much choice… Alright, follow me, its two days travel at most."

Deidara smirked. "If we go by foot. But we don't have time for that, so we'll use my way of transportation. We'll be there by nightfall." There was a cloud of smoke and a large white bird appeared.

Raipa couldn't help but flash a grin, "A very nice trick, no?"

Sasori grunted. "Just get on the bird already."

"Old on, I 'ave to take ze body with me; it'll just take a second." And Raipa quickly sealed the body into a scroll.

xXx

Late at night

Rome yawned as he closed the door behind him. He walked into the living room and saw Mayu and Micheru sleeping on the couch. He shook his head in amusement, walked into the small kitchen and grabbed a bottle of sake and a small sake dish It had been three days since Raipa and Ghost left, and in the meantime Robatsu had returned with the news that he too had killed his opponent.

He walked up the stairs and into the room Hawke resided. He smiled when he saw that Hawke was awake. "Took you long enough."

Hawke gave a weak smile. "I had a fight with the d-" but was cut off by Rome.

"Yeah the door, me too… Me too," Rome joked.

"So…What happened while I was out?" the injured Hunter asked.

"Raipa carried your unconscious ass back here and Mayu patched you up. Ghost and Raipa headed out again to take care of your mess."

Hawke's eyes widened. "That guy… Six, he's incredibly strong! I didn't stand a chance; I doubt that Ghost and Raipa will be able to take him out."

"Have a little faith in them, Ghost is strong, and he was already one of our best when we met up 4 years ago. I don't even want to know how much he has improved since then," Rome retorted with a grin.

Hawke tried to speak up but was cut off by Rome who held his hand up. "Ghost and Raipa are back, stay put." And with that he hurried out of the room.

He walked down the stairs into the living room and saw Mayu already walking towards the front door. She opened it and saw a group of four people standing there. Raipa in front, with two black robed men carrying Ghost. "Raipa! And…two members of the Akatsuki?"

Raipa shrugged and walked inside. "Ze tall one's Deidara and ze other is Sasori. Zey are acquainted with 'Awke."

Mayu looked at Raipa with a stern look before sighing and waving them inside.

Rome saw the small group. "Damn Raipa, what happened to you? Got into a fight with –"

"A door yeah, zey are really out to get me lately…Ghost too," Raipa cut off.

Rome laughed. "That's the second time in a week!"

Mayu sweat dropped. "Lay him on the table and Rome, wake up Micheru, I could use her help."

Rome gave a nod and gently shook Micheru. "C'mon, wake up, Micheru."

Micheru softly moaned. "Hmm?"

"Mayu needs your help."

Micheru bolted up, immediately walked to the table and saw Ghost lying in an unconscious state. "What happened to him?"

Rome opened his mouth trying to answer but swallowed his words when he received a glare from Mayu.

Raipa walked towards the table after he gestured for the two Akatsuki members to sit down. "Six was a tough opponent, we didn't stand a chance. If Deidara and Sasori 'adn't interfered we would be dead."

Rome grimly looked at Ghost before turning back to Raipa. "That bad?"

Raipa sighed and played with his moustache. "We weren't equipped to fight such an opponent; 'e was a 'eavy close combat type. Deidara zere used some type of bombs; ze Unknown wasn't prepared for zat and got blasted to pieces in a matter of minutes."

"One of my best pieces as well," Deidara added with a grin.

Mayu turned to Deidara and narrowed her eyes. "I appreciate your timely intervention, saving the lives of my comrades, but why are you helping us?"

"Those freaks are just as much a threat to us as any other," Deidara said as he propped his feet up on the table.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend…" Rome softly stated.

Sasori grunted a nod. "Not only that, our leader wishes to speak to Naruto."

Rome raised an eyebrow at the statement; he walked around the couch and glared at them. "And why does your leader wish to speak to him?"

"No clue." Deidara shrugged as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Rome drilled his eyes into Deidara's eyes but dropped the subject.

"Alright, we're done; let's move him to the couch so we can watch him closely," Mayu said as she lifted Ghost off the table with Micheru's help.

Rome got the hint and nodded.

Mayu and Micheru laid Ghost on the couch and placed a blanket over him.

Sasori and Deidara both stood up and Deidara spoke up. "We'll come back later." And with that they both left.

Micheru followed them with her eyes. "I don't trust them. They are criminals."

"A lot of people look at us the same way, but I have to agree," Raipa said with a sigh.

xXx

Tsunade walked out the door and headed to her home; in her mind she was rethinking the events of the past day. She had approved Sasuke's promotion that Kakashi had endorsed. No matter how much she had hated Sasuke in the past, he had proven his worth and protected the village over and over again. He deserved to become an Anbu. The only reason he hadn't become an Anbu years ago was because of her hesitance, she hadn't trusted the kid back then, because she suspected that he would betray them once the opportunity had presented itself. But he didn't, and though his arrogance still caused a lot of annoyance, it didn't bother her that much anymore.

What surprised her most was the effort Sasuke had put into earning that trust, which had taken a while.

_Flashback_

Tsunade sat behind her desk with her fingers intertwined which her head leaned on. "Sasuke, what do you have to say about your actions of the past two weeks?"

Sasuke stood silently, not moving an inch. He tilted his head and smirked. "What did it look like, I defected...I tried to be more exact."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Exactly! And can you explain to us why you defected?" she asked calmly while she was fuming on the inside.

"For power."

"Power…which you couldn't acquire here?"

"This village can't help me reach my goals," Sasuke said to her as he crossed his arms, looking at her defiantly.

"You mean avenging your clan? Killing Itachi Uchiha?"

"That's right. Orochimaru offered me exactly what I wanted."

"Orochimaru was after your body, brat," Tsunade stated.

Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded. "I know. And he can have it once I've had my vengeance."

Tsunade suddenly stood up and slammed her open palm on the table. "He won't wait for your personal desires! He will strike when your body is ready and you least expect it, like the snake he is!" she hissed.

Sasuke opened his eyes and smiled. "I'm not an idiot; I know exactly what he planned. And you really think I would let him? I was going to kill him once I got what I need. I was going to not only kill that bastard for my own personal desires, but also for the village."

At this revelation Tsunade was surprised, but masked it well. "And you think I believe that?"

"I don't care whether you believe it or not."

"Let's say I believe you, what then? What do you think will happen?" The Fifth Hokage asked.

"If you answer my next question, I'll decide."

Tsunade glared at the boy; despite his young age the Uchiha was remarkably calm. "And what might that question be?"

"Will I have a future as a Shinobi?"

Tsunade slid back into her seat and sighed, placing her elbows back on the table, her hands clasped together. "I haven't decided yet. Shikamaru was the team leader of the retrieval team, so if he manages to convince me to let you off with a punishment that will allow you to retain your Shinobi status…" she trailed off meaningfully.

"If I still have a future as a Shinobi after Shikamaru's decision, then I'll make up for my mistakes."

"And if we decide that you're better off not being a Shinobi?" she asked, already knowing his answer.

"Then you'll never see me again." Sasuke stated coldly.

"Hmpf, we'll see what happens. For the time being you'll stay in one of our holding cells until further notice. You're dismissed." Tsunade stood up and turned her back on the boy.

Sasuke disregarded all forms of respect and turned around without even nodding and left.

"We both know what you're going to decide, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said as he lazily sat on the open window edge, one leg propped up and the other dangling, his arm leaning on his propped up leg.

Tsunade scoffed and shook her head."I know, but he doesn't need to know that I've already signed his release papers as well as his full reinstatement as a genin, though he will be under close observation for a while."

"Didn't expect anything less."

"Kakashi…Did you find the kid?" Tsunade asked as she turned to the silver haired jounin.

Kakashi didn't dare to look her straight in the eyes and instead looked into the slowly darkening sky. "No."

Tsunade's shoulders slumped and she walked out the door. "I want the current squads to hold their positions and wait for replacement squads to take their place."

"The rookies won't like that," Kakashi said lazily, and he wasn't thrilled either, but he wasn't stupid enough to actually say that to her face.

"I don't care; they have been searching for two weeks now. I want them back at the village by the end of the week." And with that she slammed the door behind her.

Kakashi inwardly grimaced and stood up. The only reason he had gone back to the village was under direct orders. The blonde kid may have been a pain in the ass but he was still a comrade and his student, he would fight tooth and nail against the chakra seal. '_Hmm…I wonder if Sasuke knows about Naruto's disappearance.'_ And while pondering this he jumped outside and headed towards the Aviary.

End flashback 

She opened the door and entered her house, closing the door softly. She lobbed her keys on the table next to the door and went straight into the living room to the cabinet. She grabbed a sake dish and the bottle that stood next to it; she walked to her couch which had an ottoman for her feet to lie on. With the arrival of the man named Ghost, a lot of questions had been raised. Why had there been more sightings of men entirely dressed in black with a hood covering their faces along with a red sash? What was their purpose? And the question that had bugged her the most was the connection between Ghost and Naruto. When Kakashi had told her that Ghost had heard of stories about Naruto she almost went ballistic and was seriously tempted to hunt the dark robed man herself.

She sighed and filled her dish for the third time and slumped deeper into her comfortable couch. "Where are you…?"

xXx

Sasuke sat down on the bar stool and in a quick motion grabbed the incoming bottle of beer that Shikamaru, who was sitting next to him, had slid across the bar table. "Thanks," he grunted.

Shikamaru nodded. "Congratulations on your promotion."

Chouji leaned forward to catch Sasuke's gaze. "Yeah, congratulations, I expected you to be promoted a long time ago."

Sasuke grunted and spoke up after taking a large drink from his beer. "There were certain issues that had to be resolved."

Chouji chuckled. "It's never easy with you, is it?"

"Not really…" Sasuke answered as he turned to the visitor who sat down next to him. He gave him a nod to acknowledge him and waved with his finger before making a beer drinking motion.

The bartender nodded, grabbed another beer and set it down in front of the Hyuuga.

Sasuke slid some money across the table. "So what have you been up to now that the Jounin exams are over, Neji?"

Said Hyuuga took a sip from his beer. Kiba had introduced him to beer a year ago and at first he was disgusted by it, but he later caught himself by drinking it more often. _Damn you Inuzuka!_

He turned to the Uchiha and raised his beer in a gesture. "Got my first mission as an ANBU captain tomorrow and you're coming along Sasuke. From now on you'll be on my squad."

Sasuke stood there gaping before giving him a rare grin. "I would never have thought to end up in your team."

"Troublesome bunch…First Kakashi, closely followed by Neji and now you, Sasuke," Shikamaru muttered.

"Why aren't you applying for a spot? I heard they could use some good tacticians and since you're the best we have, I assumed you would join ANBU as well," Neji said.

"It's too troublesome and I don't think Ino would appreciate it if I spend even less time with her than I do already…." He gestured to the bartender with his empty sake dish. In return the bartender eagerly walked over and filled it again to the brim.

Chouji grinned and shook his head. "Women…can't live with them…." He would never have thought that his best friend and Ino would hook up.

"Can't live without them," Sasuke softly finished as he thought about Sakura, and the time they had spent together after Naruto's disappearance.

"Yeah, how is Sakura? Now that she's promoted to Jounin, you reckon she'll be placed in a new squad?" Chouji asked.

"She doesn't know she wants exactly. She wants to become an active Jounin to perform missions, but on the other hand she wants to work in the hospital which has offered her a spot as the head of the medical-nin," Sasuke said before he downed his beer in one large gulp.

Chouji nodded in understanding. "That's a toughy alright. Being the head of the medical corp is nothing less than amazing, but having to give up on missions…"

"Okay, that's it for me, I'll see you tomorrow," Sasuke said as he stood up.

Shikamaru, Chouji and Neji replied and gave a wave before returning to their drinks.

* * *

><p>Voila! That's chapter 7 I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter will have some unexpected twists!<p>

Jutsu list

Fūton: Hanachiri Mai- Wind style scattering flower dance

-note: this is an adjusted style as you read since it doesn't have any flowers but since I don't fluently speak any other language besides English I left the name the same.

Chidori senbon - One Thousand Birds Senbon

Chidori – One thousand Birds.

Also normally I underline the demonic speech when an unknown speaks who has merged with a demon, but Fanfiction keeps removing it so i decided to leave it out.


	8. Chapter 8: Pokerface

Happy New Year party people! Hope you had a blast, I know I did ^^

I won't start blabbering about why this chapter was delayed, won't do any of us any good,I can only promise that I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible ;)

Once again I want to thank you all for reading/reviewing/adding it to favorites etc!

To Narutolover896: I can understand that and I know plenty of stories that do exactly that, but do keep in mind that there is a time gap of seven years, in those seven years a whole lot can happen and that will be explained in future chapters ^^

To Foreverwildfire2.0: your wish shall be granted! Only you'll have to wait a bit more.

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

FantomoDrako has once again read over the chapter and fixed any mistakes, you are the best! *raises bottle of alcohol*

_'Thoughts'_

**"Demonic voice"**

Enjoy!

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 8**

* * *

><p><span>Two days later<span>

Ghost opened one of his eyes slowly and softly groaned at the bright light. He used his hand to block the light and tried to stand up, only to be pushed back into his pillow gently but firmly.

"Stay down, Ghost; you took a serious beating, so stop struggling!" Mayu ordered.

"Mayu-sama?" Ghost asked groggily. "Could you close the curtains? The light is killing me."

There were shuffling feet and voices in the background, as soon as he felt the sunlight leaving his face he reopened his eyes and sighed in relief. "Arigato, Mayu-sama."

The blonde looked around and saw that he was lying on a couch in Mayu's living room; it was then that his memories caught up with him. "Mayu-sama, what happened to the Unknown?"

Mayu smiled. "I think Raipa can better answer that question."

Ghost turned his head, trying to find Raipa as he propped his back against the armrest; it was then that he noticed the two Akatsuki members standing a few feet away. His eyes widened in surprise before they changed, his look turning into rage. He jerked up, ignoring the stabs of pain, swung over the couch and aimed his fist at Deidara who narrowed his eyes.

Before the blow could connect, Rome intervened by jumping between the two and blocking the punch with the palm of his hand. "Hold on, Ghost! They are on our side."

"Our side my ass! They have never been on anyone's side," Ghost growled as he tried to push Rome out of the way.

"What 'e said is true. We were about to be killed when zey arrived, if it wasn't for zem we wouldn't be standing 'ere," Raipa said as he walked down the stairs.

Ghost in return reluctantly calmed down and dropped his arm to his side.

"Uzumaki Naruto, my Leader wishes to meet you," Sasori said with as much respect in his voice as he could gather, which wasn't a lot.

"Not going to happen," Ghost snorted as he crossed his arms.

"If it wasn't for a certain member, you wouldn't even have known about the Unknown threat that is only a week away. You know who I'm talking about, hn."

Ghost sighed in defeat and closed his eyes. He felt dizzy, knowing his body was still battered. He sat against the back of the couch and nodded. "Itachi…"

"Exactly, so grab your equipment, it's at the very least a day's travel if we fly with one of my birds," Deidara said with a grin as he eyed the exhausted blonde while he was leaning against the wall.

Ghost looked down at the ground and his eyes flashed from the left to the right, trying to figure out what do. _Damn! I can't trust them, but then again they saved my life along with Raipa's so I could give them the benefit of the doubt…But this is the Akatsuki we're talking about!_

Ghost looked up again and nodded. "Okay, this is what we're going to do. I'll go with you to your leader but the small one stays here in case something goes wrong."

Deidara laughed and shot a look at his partner, who in return seemed annoyed at the offer which was laid on the table. "Sounds good to me, but my man Sasori won't be pleased. Hn."

Rome glared at Sasori and scoffed, "A decent deal." The bald Hunter turned to Ghost who looked tired. "Are you up for it, Ghost? You aren't looking too good."

"I'm fine; give me a sec to change." Ghost limped up the stairs and closed the door of the bedroom behind him.

Micheru just shook her head. "Is he always like this?"

Mayu just chuckled as she relaxed on the couch. "I wouldn't know; I haven't seen him for three years."

"But get used to it because Hawke is just like him," Rome said as well before walking to the kitchen which was connected to the living room.

Micheru shook her head and spoke up again. "And why are they always placing themselves on the front line? Why not let someone else take the lead?"

"Probably because of Hawke, Hawke was his sensei and I'll quote what he said when I asked him the same question: 'if we can still move our legs that means we also have the energy left to swing our fists. Why send someone else to fight if we can go ourselves?'" Rome said with a grin as he walked back into the living room with a drink in his hands, ignoring the two Akatsuki figures.

Micheru grinned widely and closed her eyes in amusement. "Figures…"

The group turned to the sound of someone slowly descending from the stairs and saw Ghost in his new outfit which was the same as his previous one.

"Don't stop talking about me on my account," The former Leaf shinobi said before turning to Deidara. "Let's get going."

"Hold on Ghost, I want you to take someone with you," Mayu intervened.

Ghost glanced at Mayu with his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Who?"

"Miche-" Mayu tried to say but was cut off rudely.

"No," both Ghost and Raipa said simultaneously.

Micheru in return was surprised when she heard her name and felt offended. "And why not? I want to do my part! All I've been doing since I joined is training and waiting. I want to help!"

"Micheru is right, that's why she's going to accompany you, and rest assured Ghost, she will be tagging along on more missions than just this one," Mayu said with authority in her voice.

Ghost gave an invisible glare. "This is the Akatsuki we're talking about, mass murderers! They will kill her in a moment's notice if they feel the least bit threatened."

Deidara couldn't help but feel proud at Ghost's statement. It was true they were mass murderers. It was also true they would kill in the blink of an eye if someone came to them with the least bit of aggression. But he couldn't help but retort, "And how are you any different, Naruto? Because last time I checked, you killed the enti-"

He was cut off when killing intent started to fill the room, directly pointed to Deidara. "Shut up." Ghost then turned to Micheru. "Micheru, grab your stuff and meet us outside in two minutes."

Micheru on the other hand was dying to know what Ghost did, but she knew that she would have to face his wrath if she kept him waiting so she hurriedly ran up the stairs and grabbed her scrolls and two special long-bladed daggers.

When she arrived in the living room she noticed that the rest were already outside, minus Hawke who was unconscious after his brief talk with Rome some time ago. She walked back outside and put her curly hair in a ponytail so it wouldn't block her view. She saw Ghost with his arms crossed glaring daggers at the back of Deidara's head. She tried to look under his hood but her view was blocked. She tried again but Ghost saw what she was doing and tilted his head.

'_Busted!'_ she thought to herself and sheepishly gave a tiny wave while a small blush crept on her face. '_Why am I looking anyways? I've already seen his face…but not his eyes…'_ her blush intensified and she almost let out a giggle before mentally hitting herself over the head. '_What's wrong with me? Okay…Focus!'_

Deidara in the meantime had created a large bird and jumped on top of it, closely followed by Ghost and Micheru.

Mayu walked over and looked at Ghost. "Keep an eye on her. I expect a message in two days and I will see you both in four."

Raipa walked over as well and looked at Ghost with a serious look on his face. "Ghost, when you get back we need to 'ave a talk." He looked at his claw and then back to his face and his eyes narrowed.

Ghost understood and nodded before the bird took off into the air and flew away at a high speed.

Sasori watched in annoyance as Deidara flew away on his bird made of clay. "This will be the four longest days of my life." Grumbling the man turned around and went back inside.

Mayu turned to Raipa with a questioning look. "What was that about?"

"Nothing to be concerned of Mayu-sama," Raipa said, his eyes still glued on the clay bird that was getting farther and farther away.

xXx

It had taken them an entire day, minus the two breaks they had, to arrive at the Akatsuki headquarters.

The sky had darkened and they hadn't had a clue where they were, except for Deidara who jumped off the bird before casually walking in what looked like a random direction.

Ghost and Micheru quickly followed, glancing around only to find that there were no enemies, only a thick forest that surrounded them.

After about ten minutes of walking they arrived at a clearing. Micheru looked around but didn't notice anything. "What's supposed to be here?"

Instead of Deidara it was Ghost who spoke up. "That's a very high Genjutsu, an impressive feat; Itachi's work?"

"Hn," was all Deidara said which Ghost took as a yes.

Deidara clasped his hands together before dispelling the Genjutsu, revealing a large cave. The entrance was blocked by a large double door made out of metal.

Deidara walked to the door and touched the seal that was placed in the middle. The seal disappeared and the door swung inward.

They walked inside and stopped when a person stood in front of them.

The man had black hair that framed his face. He had a calm expression and two lines under his eyes.

Ghost looked at the man and gave a short nod. "Itachi…"

Said man turned his gaze from Deidara towards Ghost. "A Hunter, so the rumors were true. Uzumaki Naruto has indeed joined them."

"Leader-sama is waiting for you," another person spoke up as he walked out of a dark corridor.

Ghost turned his head to the newcomer and his eyes widened slightly. "Kisame Hoshigaki…"

Kisame grinned and showed his shark-like teeth. "Ghost, still the same I see. We'll talk later, but for now follow me."

Ghost momentarily closed his eyes and followed Kisame and Itachi while Deidara stayed behind.

Micheru walked next to Ghost and wondered how Ghost knew both Kisame and Itachi so she decided to ask, but before she even opened her mouth she was interrupted.

"Not now, Micheru," Ghost softly said without looking at her.

Micheru swallowed her question and focused on her surroundings.

After a couple of minutes walking they arrived in a large room.

"Keep on your toes; don't let your guard down for a second," Ghost whispered in Micheru's ear as he walked past her.

Micheru's eyes wandered from the left to the right. She could make out a single figure and suppressed a shudder. _'I get some really bad vibes from him.'_

"Itachi, Kisame, leave us," the figure said.

They both, without uttering a word, left through the same door they came in.

Micheru looked at the figure who had walked into the light and widened her eyes. "His eyes…"

Ghost had crossed his arms and stood there defiantly. "That is impossible. How did you get those eyes?"

"So you recognize them," the man said.

Ghost took a closer look at the Akatsuki leader. He had orange hair and a headband of the Hidden Rain village with a slash through it. His eyes were light purple and had a ripple like pattern around his pupils. Another noticeable feature the man had were the three piercings through his nose. "And here I thought that it was just a myth, I guess I was wrong."

"We're not here to talk about my eyes; we're here to talk about our common enemy."

"The Unknowns," Micheru said.

The Akatsuki leader barely registered her. "That's what we used to call them, they however call themselves Reavers."

"How do you know that? We have a spy in their ranks, but she doesn't even know what they call themselves," Ghost responded, thinking it was improbable that the Akatsuki had information they themselves didn't. Their spies were, as Hawke would call it, solid.

"That's because your spy is a double spy, didn't you wonder why she didn't even managed to get you a name? She has been giving information about you from the very beginning."

Shock was what coursed through Ghost's body, he however didn't show it and instead spoke up. "How do you know th..." Revelation appeared in the former Jinchuuriki's mind. "Is your contact trustworthy?"

"We of the Akatsuki don't betray each other, now on to more important matters. As you may know, the Reavers are less than two weeks away from reaching the shore; as strong as our organizations are, it's not enough."

"You're suggesting informing the Hidden villages," Ghost stated, not liking it one bit, mostly because it would mean involving the Leaf village, and one assignment with those bakas in his lifetime was more than enough.

"We're outmanned. We won't stand a chance without them," the orange haired man calmly stated. "However, this is of later concern. Our alliance comes first. Do you accept?"

Micheru nervously glanced from Ghost to the Akatsuki leader. _'Ghost wouldn't accept without Mayu or Rome's consent, would he?'_

"Not up to me, because if it was then I would've slammed the kunai that I'm loosely holding into your throat before ripping it apart. However I can't let my personal feelings get in the way of our goal. I'll send a message to Mayu and you'll get your answer soon. You should have asked her to come instead of me," Ghost said, ignoring Micheru's confused look. _'Explaining things to her would only raise a lot of questions right now, then again…out of everyone in our group only Hawke knows about my 'furry friend.'_

"You're strong, Ghost, but I doubt you'll be able to defeat me," the Akatsuki leader said as he turned around. "We chose you because you are known to both Itachi and Kisame. Now then, Kisame will show you to your chambers in which you will stay; should you feel the need to wander around there will be an escort for the both of you."

"One room will be enough." Ghost placed his kunai back in his pouch and walked to the exit, motioning for Micheru to follow.

Before exiting Ghost looked over his shoulder and spoke up. "What's your name?"

The Akatsuki leader turned to the infamous Hunter without a trace of emotion. "My name is Pein." And with that he too left.

"Pein, hmm…Figures. Somehow it suits him well, don't you think?" Ghost said in an amused tone, though deep down he felt a strange feeling, something hadn't felt in a long time. It was fear. In his seven year as a missing nin he had managed to overcome his fear of powerful opponents, he was certain he had become immune for any and all killing intent. But now that he faced the Akatsuki leader who he once swore to kill, he was certain that this man had lived up to everyone's expectations. _'Especially mine, if he were to release his killing intent, I doubt I would casually shrug it off.' _

"He scares the crap out of me. Is this really what we need? An alliance with the Akatsuki?" she asked her comrade with unease in her voice as she kept glancing over her shoulder.

Ghost noticed her movements. "Don't let him, the moment you let your fears control you is the moment that you lost the battle," he sighed. And saw Kisame nudging with his head to follow him. "I understand that they unnerve you but if we want to stand a chance against our enemy then we must unite with our former ones."

Micheru registered his words and smiled, trying to shrug off her fear. "Easier said than done, how do you do it?"

"Simple, I don't fear him," Ghost lied. _'It isn't a total lie. I fear what his powers are, but I won't let it control me.'_

Before Micheru could reply Kisame cut her off. "This is your room, don't try to leave without any of us to escort you, it might end up painful for you." He said the last part with an evil grin.

Micheru entered the room followed by Ghost who shook his head. "Sadistic bastard," he muttered under his breath, barely audible but loud enough so that Kisame could hear it.

Kisame held his arm up, blocking Ghost's path. "Let's have a little chat; we have some catching up to do."

xXx

Six days later, afternoon, Konoha.

Sasuke had his feet propped up on the table and his arms folded across his chest. It had been a couple of days since his instatement in Neji's Anbu squad and already he had completed two high ranked missions. He saw Neji walking into their quarters with his hawk mask resting on the side of his head. "We got another mission?"

Neji shook his head as he sat down as well, starting to unclasp his metal bracers. "Nothing yet, but I put Kusan and Tira on pat-" He was cut off when the alarm went off and Kusan along with Tira sprinted inside in full battle gear.

"Neji, two men are approaching the village. And what's worse; they resemble the Akatsuki."

Sasuke and Neji jerked up. "Sasuke, grab your mask and let's go!" Neji ordered as he reattached his bracers and slid his mask over his face. He glanced towards Sasuke who had just finished arming himself.

They all looked at each other from behind their masks. Neji, who had now taken his alias Hawk, nodded and sprinted out the door, closely followed by his squad.

xXx

"Lady Tsunade, all Anbu squads are taking positions on the walls as well as encircling the two Akatsuki members. Jiraiya has also been informed and is heading for main gate," Shizune said as she kept glancing out of the windows.

"Good, the hospital has been notified as well." Tsunade turned away from the window. "Let's head for the main gate." She ran for the door with Shizune right behind her.

She ran through the streets, narrowly maneuvering through the mass of civilians who were being escorted to the safe house located within the Hokage Monument.

It wasn't long until they arrived at the main gate and were formally greeted by the remainder of the Konoha 11.

Tsunade marched through the main gate, flanked by Shizune and the Konoha 11, as well as several other Jounin.

Her eyes darted from the left to the right and saw that the Anbu had taken their positions around the two figures that were now mere minutes away from the main gate.

"Get ready, but wait for my orders," Tsunade said to one of the jounin who relayed the message to the others.

Seconds slowly ticked away and anxiety cut through the air. After what had happened to Gaara and several of the other jinchuuriki's they feared that the Akatsuki would attack the Leaf village, even if it was purely meant for gathering intel on Naruto.

As soon as they were within throwing distance they stopped. Tsunade looked at one of the Akatsuki members who was wearing a straw hat to hide his face. She then turned to the other and took a sharp intake of breath.

The second person that stood in front of her wore no Akatsuki cloak; instead he wore black clothing with the infamous red sash around his waist.

"I thought they said it was two Akatsuki members?" Ino whispered in Shikamaru's ear.

Shikamaru ignored her and was looking over the Anbu formation that was set up. It was a tight circle. The Anbu had enough space between themselves to avoid friendly fire from their comrades who, were standing on opposite sides, but not enough space for their enemies to escape.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and spoke up. "Put one hand on top your head and your other on your elbow! If you don't comply within the next ten seconds we will kill you!"

The Akatsuki member leaned towards his ally softly talking in his ear. "We could comply, but if we do that they will most likely take us to interrogation and kill us afterwards, we'll never get our chance to persuade them."

"You're right." The dark robed man, better known as a hunter, crossed his arms defiantly, daring her to attack. "Hokage-sama, we are not here to attack your village, we are merely here to negotiate."

"We don't negotiate with scum like you!" a shinobi bravely said, only to gulp in fear when the Akatsuki member tilted his head slowly towards him.

"You have nothing we want, you have 3 seconds left," Tsunade loudly said as she raised her hand in the air. Every Leaf Shinobi tensed and grabbed a shuriken, kunai or formed their hands together in a hand sign.

The two remained emotionless and still, their arms at their sides.

Tsunade's face turned into a scowl and started to drop her hand.

"We know the status of Uzumaki Naruto," the Akatsuki member said in an evenly calm voice as before.

Tsunade's hand stopped in midair and her scowl changed into surprise and disbelief. "Where?" Was all she managed to utter.

"That's what I thought; let's continue this conversation in private shall we, Hokage-sama?"

"Don't listen to them Lady Hokage, you know that no good will come from this. I know you miss him! We all do, but negotiating with them will cause nothing but trouble!" Shizune desperately tried to talk Tsunade out of the stupid decision she was about to make.

Tsunade glared at her to shut up. "I know perfectly well what might come from this. Anbu squad two and three will escort our visitors to my office; I want Anbu squad five to head for my office immediately to pose as guards as well."

A Jounin next to her relayed the message into his headset and two squads appeared next to her while a third headed back into the village.

"I want all Chunins to head for the roofs and oversee the village. I want Teams one to eight to stay put on the wall while the rest resume their former responsibilities. Understood?"

"Hai!" And with that the mass of Shinobi dispersed.

"What do we do with the civilians Hokage-sama?" the Jounin next to her, who had also relayed the orders, asked.

"Leave them at the safe house for the time being," she said before turning her attention back to the unwelcome guests. "Follow me to my office. You will not draw your weapons or act aggressively towards me or my guards, understood?"

"Don't worry Lady Hokage; we are merely here to talk," the Akatsuki member said.

"Let's go," was all she said as she cautiously turned around and headed for the Hokage tower.

The hunter gave a slight nod towards his companion and then followed the slug Sannin.

xXx

As they walked down the hallway heading for her office, the hunter better known as Ghost wasn't surprised that there were Anbu guards stationed in the hallway. Ghost glanced to one of the guards and noticed that he had silver hair and a dog mask. _'It's Hatake without a doubt. Hmm…Last time I was here he had a jounin outfit; perhaps he's a Jounin, when he isn't on an Anbu mission__.'_

They entered her office and there were four more Anbu inside, guarding her office. Tsunade walked towards her desk and turned around, leaning against the desk. She folded her arms and glared at them. "First things first, I want to see your faces. You don't want me to worry but I can't even begin to trust you if you don't show me your faces."

Ghost glanced at Itachi and nodded. He slowly reached for his hood and pulled it back, revealing the bandana that covered his bright blond hair.

He also wore his trademark sunglasses along with his facemask.

His companion grabbed his straw hat and took it off, revealing his black hair and dark grey eyes, as well as the unique lines under his eyes.

It was then that all hell broke loose.

"You! I will kill you!" one of the Anbu said as he dashed for the Akatsuki member, who was none other than Itachi Uchiha.

Ghost sighed as he saw the Anbu aim a fist at Itachi's face. "Smart move Hokage-sama," Ghost said sarcastically as he saw Itachi block Sasuke's fist and pushed him out of the way. "Although Itachi here won't retaliate I suggest you calm y-" Ghost was interrupted as a kunai flew past his face that was apparently meant for Itachi. "Hokage-sama, I suggest you keep your Anbu on a leash because if he continues like this than he will force not only Itachi but also my hand."

"I don't see why I should; Itachi is the one who caused the Uchiha massacre. If anything, I should only stop this fight because of the location we're currently in," Tsunade coldly said with narrowed eyes.

The other Anbu were combat ready with their hands on their katanas, waiting to jump in at a moment's notice.

Ghost looked at the Anbu and slowly reached for his own blade, only to freeze dead in his tracks. He sighed and with trouble straightened his back, letting Shikamaru know that he was strong enough to break it. "Nara, if you don't release your Kagemane no Jutsu this second you will be in serious trouble."

Shikamaru, who stood in the shadows and was barely noticeable, ignored him and looked at his leader. "Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade stayed silent as she watched Itachi and Sasuke battling it out or, rather, dancing it out as Itachi merely dodged all the attacks.

It was then that Ghost lost his cool. "Hokage! If you don't order your subordinate to stop fighting my friend this instant as well as the release of the Kagemane no Jutsu, there will be severe consequences!"

"Are you threatening me?" Tsunade hissed as she cracked her knuckles, preparing herself to throw the first punch.

"Not only that, I'm also threatening the lives of some of your Chunin shinobi who were sent on a mission to wind country," Ghost paused to see Tsunade's reaction and smirked behind his mask. "That's right; you didn't think that we had a back-up plan?"

"How dare you!" Shizune shouted as she too joined in and got into an aggressive fighting stance.

"If you stand down and listen to our proposition, we'll release team Ebisu as soon as we're out of this village."

Tsunade glared and was seriously tempted to punch the man into next week but that would result in the death of team Ebisu. "Sasuke, stand down now! You too, Shikamaru, release your jutsu."

Sasuke ignored her and instead Itachi countered one of his attacks and slammed his fist into Sasuke's face, causing Sasuke to skid backwards. It was then that his Anbu squad restrained Sasuke from continuing.

"Let…Me…Go!" Sasuke growled as he struggled to get free.

Tsunade marched towards him and raised her fist threateningly. "Control yourself, Sasuke! Now is not the time!" Tsunade returned her gaze towards the two missing nin. "Now tell me what you came here for."

Ghost walked around her and placed a folded paper on her desk and opened it, revealing a map. "There's a threat coming towards the Elemental countries and if we don't act accordingly we will all be killed."

Tsunade looked at him with disbelief clearly written on her face. "You're saying that there's an enemy coming that's more powerful than all the Shinobi countries combined, and that you're in fact here seeking for an alliance between us?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Ghost said as he looked out the window and into the distance as if he was trying to find the invading army.

Tsunade looked from Ghost to Itachi and then to Shikamaru, who in return gave a quizzical look.

"I need some time to speak to my advisors. You will be escorted to one of our waiting rooms until further notice."

Itachi and Ghost turned around and walked out of the office until they were stopped by a voice.

"I kept my part; now tell me where Naruto is," The Hokage threatened.

"We will tell you the status of Uzumaki the moment you have your answer," Itachi said as he and Ghost turned right down the hallway, leaving the rest of the group minus the escorts standing in the office and hallway.

xXx

Half an hour later.

"Shikaku, what is your final decision?" Tsunade asked with her chin leaning on her folded hands.

"Taking in mind that both Itachi and Ghost are S ranked criminals, I must advice you to decline their offer; they can't be trusted and should be taken down immediately.

Tsunade momentarily closed her eyes. "I would've done that if it weren't for the fact they have information about Naruto and are holding team Ebisu."

"We need them to release team Ebisu and to tell us about Naruto beforehand somehow," Shikamaru added.

"We'll work something out. Shikaku, send an ANBU squad as escort to bring them back here." Tsunade stood up and looked towards Sakura, Shikamaru and finally Hinata. They were part of her small group of advisors. Sakura always had a good input when it was related to medical as well as civilian matters and Shikamaru, as well as Shikaku, gave her a tactical point of view. Hinata, who was tutored by her father, had a political angle.

Moments later Itachi and Ghost entered her office ignoring the looks they were getting and stood in front of the Hokage. "Have you decided?"

"One moment, I want you to release team Ebisu immediately."

Ghost chuckled softly. "It was a lie, we only saw team Ebisu travelling in that region and decided to use it to our advantage. Now that that's out of the way, will you stand beside us or not?"

Tsunade looked from Shikaku towards Sakura and momentarily closed her eyes before a smirk appeared on her face. "You can forget about it. I can't trust two S ranked criminals; in fact, you two are both to be apprehended and escorted to our interrogation unit."

Ghost glanced at Itachi and shook his head slowly, "So that's how it's going to be…You're making a big mistake, Tsunade."

Tsunade's smirk never left and instead made a signal and both Jiraiya and Kakashi appeared. "I don't think so; now tell me what you know about Naruto's whereabouts."

"Uzumaki's whereabouts…" Itachi softly said.

"We did promise that, Itachi," Ghost said as he grabbed his hood and placed it back on his head.

"I guess we did," Itachi responded as his hands appeared from out of his sleeves.

"Enough! Get them now!" Tsunade ordered as she got into a combat stance and prepared to attack.

The Anbu were the first to respond and attacked them head on. Ghost twirled around, grabbed an incoming wrist and threw the man through the large window behind the Hokage's desk.

Itachi activated his Sharingan shortly followed by a handful of shuriken, throwing them one after another, severely wounding the unfortunate Anbu who got caught in the attack. Sensing an attack coming he leaned to the left, barely in time to dodge Kakashi's Raikiri.

"Got you now, brother!" a voice roared above the sounds of battle in the office, which had turned into a battleground with bodies lying everywhere.

Unable to move in time, Itachi's eyes widened in surprise when a Chidori rammed through his back and out of his chest, where his heart was.

Itachi chuckled. "Not exactly, little brother."

Sasuke looked to Kakashi with confusion written across his face before it turned into realization; he tried to jump back but was too late when the explosion occurred.

In a last resort Sakura threw herself to the ground and Kakashi made a dive to the Hokage's desk.

When the explosion died down Tsunade struggled to get to her feet, holding her side all the while. She coughed and looked at the destruction around her. She saw Sakura slowly getting up, covered in dust and blood. She turned towards her destroyed desk and saw that Shikamaru struggled to get up from the remains while Kakashi laid motionless on the ground.

She turned towards the door opening and saw Sasuke lying on the ground, at the feet of both Ghost and Itachi.

Ghost stepped over the wounded Uchiha and slowly walked to where the windows used to be, only to be replaced by nothing, the whole wall was blown away, leaving pieces of brick remaining. "You forced our hand Tsunade, we came here with a peace offering, but instead you choose this path." He turned around and looked at Tsunade who was taking sharp intakes of breath. He turned his gaze down and looked at Shikamaru. He slowly stepped on Kakashi's hand which held a kunai, preparing to strike, his eyes never leaving the Nara. "You were at a strategic disadvantage; a small office, not enough space for a wide assortment of jutsu and to top it off, you had no information about your opponent's battle skills. You, Tsunade, made a terrible choice."

"If you merely had said no, we would've left, we meant no further trouble with this pathetic village," Itachi said as he looked at his brother with disgust before rolling Sasuke on his back with his feet. "Let's go, Ghost, we only have a couple of days left, everyone will be mobilizing by now." Itachi then walked over to Ghost and stood next to him, facing the village.

Ghost crouched down next to the kneeling Hokage.

Tsunade forced herself to look at the man and scowled. "Where is he, where's my little brother? Where. Is. Naruto!" she hissed.

Ghost kept looking at her and a smirk appeared on his face but was invisible to the Hokage. "Your 'little brother' is lying six feet under." And with that he stood up and walked back to Itachi, he placed his hand on his partner's shoulder and disappeared in a flash.

"Naruto's d-dead?" Sakura stuttered as tears slowly made their way down her face.

Tsunade was speechless and just kept staring at where Ghost was crouching moments before.

* * *

><p>Dum dum dum! How ya like that! Itachi and Ghost teaming up ;)<p>

Got nothing else to say other than that I'll try to update faster =)

Don't forget to review! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy


	9. Chapter 9: The Arrival

Edit: had to re upload twice, the site was being troublesome.

Readers: "Ah yes 'telling us that you will post chapters on a faster rate.' We have dismissed that claim."

Me: "I'm sorry?"

Yes I'm sorry party people; I had a busy schedule with exams and everything else I won't bore you with that I couldn't finish it any sooner. I'll try to make it up to you all!

Was trying to give the overused; "I had a serious case of writers block" line/quote but seriously, who believes that?

To Anon: Really? What gave it away? ;P I hope you'll enjoy this chapter ;)

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

FantomoDrako has read the chapter over and fixed the silly mistakes I made! I couldn't do this without youuuuuu!

'Thoughts'

"**Demonic voice"****  
><strong>

Enjoy!

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 9****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>~Chapter 9 The Arrival.~<p>

Two days until the arrival.

Ghost walked into the cavern and was soon greeted by the rest of his comrades. "Everything's set?"

Rome looked up at Ghost before looking down at the table which had a layout of the beachhead of Earth country. "Iwagakure has agreed to help us and has sent 250 men to the beachhead; they are setting up defenses now. Amegakure is sending us 100 of their best men as well. Thank Pein for that."

"However, Konohagakure isn't taking the threat seriously and Suna isn't helping us but are placing defensive forces all over their border," Pein said as he walked into the room, flanked by a blue haired woman whom Ghost had come to know as Konan.

"Once the word spreads that the Reavers have begun their assault, Konoha will see that they were wrong, as will the other villages," Rome noted as he stood up, folding the map.

"I'm catching some shut eye, be back in a few," Ghost intervened and walked out of the cavern and to his room.

Rome gave a wave, walked through a door on his right and then down the hallway. He couldn't help but think back 10 years ago when the invasion at Mirarca came to an end and the resistance had lost their last major offensive along with almost all of their men.

Flashback 10 years ago, Mirarca.

Rome scratched his bandaged forehead and picked up his sword from the ground; he studied it and then sheathed it. He walked through the underground hideout looking at some of the children and women who were huddled together. He sighed and walked up the stairs to the upper level.

"Rome, are you heading out again?" a kid no older than 10 asked.

Rome nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to do some scouting, to make sure that they aren't getting too close to our hideout."

The kid smiled and waved. "Good luck, Baldy!"

Rome returned the gesture and walked up the remaining stairs before opening the trapdoor above him. He climbed out and closed it behind him.

Rome stood in an empty old shed. After he made sure that there wasn't anyone around he exited the shed and felt the rain hit his face and bare arms. He looked around before disappearing into the forest that was stretched in front of him.

xXx

"Are they still following us?" a frightened young man asked to his companion as they dashed through the forest, their vision limited because of the dense fog that had settled.

"I don't know but assume the worst," the second man answered as he jumped over a fallen tree and side stepped an old crater from the battle that had occurred some time ago. "Let's split up, we have to notify the others."

The young man nodded and focused his attention back on the road before he felt something warm and wet hit his face. Surprised, he touched it and looked at his fingers only to see that it was blood. "Blood?" he jerked his head to the right and saw that his companion was gone.

"Ti-" His words were cut short as he felt a moment of excruciating pain before falling down to the ground, face first. Dead

A dark haired man landed beside the dead body and looked down with blood red eyes. **"Head back to camp and tell them we're on the right track."**

His companion nodded and disappeared in a flash.

The dark haired man turned into the direction his prey were heading and then disappeared as well.

3 hours later.

Rome sighed in satisfaction. 'G_ood, no Skiffies yet; still it's better to go sightseeing for a safer place.'_

His eyes widened slowly when he heard footsteps in a quick pace not far behind him in the thick forest.

He twirled around, his hand already reaching for his blade.

"Rome!"

Rome took a better look and noticed that it was a young man, one of the other scouts. He released the grip on his hilt and relaxed a bit. "What's going on Tireau?"

He came to a skidding halt and caught his breath. "They…Attacked…The…Shelter!" he managed to say between his puffs for air.

Cold fear gripped Rome's heart. "What? When?"

"About twenty minutes ago, we have to leave right now!" Tireau turned around and sprinted back from where he came, closely followed by Rome.

It didn't take long for them to return back to the shelter and what met them was fire and smoke everywhere, bodies strewn around. Rome fell to his knees, his eyes wide glistening with tears. "No..Noo!"

xXx

End Flashback

Ghost slid past one of the Elite Jounin whom originated from Ame. He saw Raipa, who was walking a couple of feet ahead of him, jump over one of the many rocks that were scattered across the desolate wasteland.

_Mister? What's going on?_

_Please I beg you, sir, let us go we won't say a thing please!_

_Ghost! Are you finished with your part? Because I got some idiots who are actually trying to put up a fight._

Ghost grunted and shook his head. "Get out of my head…" he muttered to himself.

"Get what out of your head?" Micheru said as she popped up beside Ghost.

"Just a headache… How much longer until the beachhead?"

"Not much longer," she eyed him from the corner of her eyes and saw his slumped shoulders. "Are you alright?"

Ghost turned his attention back to her. "I'm fine, Micheru."

"Well you don't look fine."

'_Is she ever going to shut up?' _Ghost thought with a sigh. "Micheru, I alr-" he was interrupted mid-sentence when Kisame grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Yeah, are you alright 'Ghost-kun'?" Kisame grinningly said, enjoying the situation Ghost was in.

"I'm doing great, but if you don't pull your hand back in the next three seconds, you won't…" Ghost threatened the Akatsuki member who didn't look the least bit intimidated.

"Still angry? I didn't take you for someone who would hold a grudge after such a long time." Kisame feigned surprise.

"Shut up and keep moving, Sushi, you disgust me."

Micheru in the meantime almost drooled at this sudden rush of information. The way they talked meant that they have known each other for a long time. '_I think I'll have a talk with that Kisame guy, maybe he can tell me something more about Ghost.'_

The group could see the beachhead ahead and after what seemed like forever they finally left the rough and harsh terrain and met the salty sea air. As they walked down the hill that led to the beach, Pein took the lead and walked forward, giving the orders to his shinobi to take up their positions.

Ghost walked up to Itachi. "We'll have the advantage for the first couple of minutes; the sun is in our back, should give us an edge in the fight."

Itachi gave a single nod before narrowing his eyes. "They're here."

Ghost followed Itachi's gaze and saw small dots on the horizon closing in fast. "We're just in time."

Ghost walked further down the beach glancing to the small group of shinobi who were setting traps at the very edge of the beach a few feet away from the splashing sea water. "Mayu-sama, they're almost here; how much longer until our defenses are all ready?"

"Not much longer, just a couple of minutes, we should make it in time. Raipa, go to your squad, make sure they're all ready."

Raipa, who was standing beside her, gave her a look but stayed silent before heading to his teammates.

"Have you seen my squad, Mayu-sama?" Ghost asked, not having a clue where they might be.

"Squad nine? Last I checked they were with squad 15 at the foot of the hill."

"Arigato!" And with that Ghost sprinted towards his squad.

Mayu looked towards the bald Hunter who was checking his squad's equipment one last time before giving a nod. "We're with too few…" she softly said to no one in particular.

"We are, but it doesn't make a difference. If we don't halt their assault here we'll have a big problem, so I hope your Hunters are up for it," Pein stated as he walked past her, not even sparing her a look.

'_Asshole,'_ Mayu thought bitterly.

Micheru walked towards Rome. Since she was on his squad and would take care of their squad's injuries above anything else, she decided to at least try and remember the faces of the men.

She saw Kisame sitting on a rock, patting his sword…'_Patting?'_ She shook her head and then saw Kisame stroking his sword. "What the…"

Kisame looked up and gave her a sick grin which had sadist written all over it. He held his hand up and made a shooing motion.

'_Right…moving on.'_ Micheru arrived at where Rome was giving some last minute advice to his men. She smiled when Rome gave a reassuring smile, above anyone else he knew how nervous she was feeling.

"5 MINUTES! They will be upon us in five minutes!" someone shouted and it was then that everyone tensed up and quickly gathered their weapons.

Ghost stood in front of his squad with his back turned to them; he squinted his eyes and saw that there were small objects closing in fast. "We got incoming!" he shouted before crouching down and making himself small.

Everyone else did the same or were taking care behind their wooden shields they had made out of thick tree branches before they left for the land of Earth.

Hawke took the chance and looked over his improvised shield and saw that the enemy was barraging them with arrows. "Bastards…" he muttered before grinning. "This is going to be one hell of a fight!"

Though the arrows rained down upon the defenders, they hit only a few who weren't under cover or hadn't covered their entire body with their shields.

Ghost stood up once the attack died down. He darted his eyes to the right and noticed a small hole in his hood._ 'That was a close call.'_

"Brat! Get ready!" Kisame shouted towards the Hunter. Ghost in return jerked his head back to the boats and saw that they were seconds away.

The boats were big but plain; they could carry a lot of men but were vulnerable to fire attacks.

"Light 'em up!" one shouted as boats finally reached the shore. All at once, the Fire oriented jutsu users set the boats on fire using fireballs, fire dragons and even an occasional exploding tag.

After Ghost finished his jutsu he saw that the boat he aimed for along with his squad was set on fire, claiming the lives of countless enemies.

"**Raaaaaaaaaagh!"**

Ghost looked up and then towards Kisame, who had sprinted out of the water after using some of his infamous water jutsu, effectively sinking a couple of boats. "That can't be good," Ghost said to the Akatsuki member.

"Scared, brat?"

"Screw you, Sushi, I'll kill more of those suckers than you," Ghost retorted with a smirk.

"Care to bet on it? The one who has the most kills after this fight is over wins."

Ghost ignored Kisame and grabbed the handle of his new katana, focusing on the unnatural sounds that were coming from the water.

Ghost narrowed his eyes and motioned with his hand for his squad to come closer.

It was then that something big came out of the water and started running towards Ghost's squad.

"What the hell is he?" one of his squad members shouted.

A dark skinned, tall, heavily built man stepped out of the water. His eyes were glowing dark red and he had short cut hair. He had a sword which he gripped with two hands.

Ghost turned to Kisame who in return nodded and stepped forward.

"Kisame will handle him, the rest of you follow me!" Ghost beckoned for his squad to follow.

Kisame gripped the handle of his bandaged blade tighter and slowly drew it from his back, a sick grin covering his face.

The dark man returned the grin and then dashed for the blue man and swung his blade, placing his entire weight behind it.

Kisame blocked the attack and retaliated with an even stronger blow, temporarily causing his opponent to fall to one knee before regaining himself and swung his sword again.

Kisame and the Reaver exchanged blow for blow until Kisame caught the man off guard when he parried his strike; taking full use of it, he swung his massive blade and struck the man in his side.

The Reaver grimaced but slammed his blade against his opponent's and used his free hand to punch the Akatsuki member in the face.

Kisame staggered backwards but managed to stay upright. He slowly walked forward and ignored the chaos around him. "Is that all you got?"

xXx

Ghost ducked underneath an incoming blade and slammed his fist in the foe's stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

Ghost wasted not a single second; his hand reached for the pouch on his leg and grabbed a kunai. In a single motion he struck the man in his throat, making him gurgle up blood and reach for his throat. Ghost then gave him a kick in the back of his neck, causing the man to fall face first in the sand.

The former Konoha shinobi looked around at the fight and saw absolute chaos. All over the beach men and women were fighting, it was hard to tell which side was losing, but if he had to guess he'd say that the Reavers were winning.

The Reavers consisted mainly of men whose strength was equal to their shinobi. But there were also the Holders as Pein called them. They had merged their soul with that of a demon and became almost unstoppable; they were equal in strength to a Hunter or an Akatsuki member.

He threw a quick glance at his squad, which was now at less than half strength.

"Listen up, I want you to team up with Raipa's team, he's near our supplies. Contact me when it's all clear. _'Yeah sure…Last update gave us intel that one of the Holders was causing havoc there. I just sent my squad to their death.'_

He mentally shook his head and dashed for a new opponent who had his eyes settled on an incapacitated shinobi.

He slammed his shoulder into the man's back, who stumbled forward before falling to the ground.

Ghost grabbed his new katana and pierced the man's skull, instantly killing him.

Ghost then picked up the shinobi who lay on the ground and swung him over his shoulders. He turned around and started running for the nearest medic and dropped him off there.

He turned his back to the medic and noticed that Itachi was fighting three opponents at the same time without too much trouble.

Ghost could also see Sasori, who had just stabbed a man with his metal tail.

"Ghost, come in, over."

Ghost pushed a button on his headset he had around his neck with a small cord leading to the earpiece. "This is Ghost, what's the problem Mayu-sama?"

"Hawke needs help; he has two Holders there and can't handle them both. Can you help?"

"I'm on my way. Ghost out." Ghost turned his attention to Hawke, who he could see fighting in the distance, along with his squad who were fighting off the weaker enemies.

Ghost breathed out and then took a single step forward before disappearing, leaving in his wake sand that had flown upwards.

..

Hawke kicked the man in the gut and then tried to punch him in the face, but gasped when the punch was blocked.

Unable to lift his arms up in time, he got punched himself and fell backwards. He looked up and saw that it was too late, his foe had already raised his sword, preparing to cleave Hawke in two.

Hawke closed his eyes for a split second and when he opened them again he saw Ghost standing in front of him.

"Damn, Hawke, I thought you were better than this."

"I am, I was just taking a short break, that's important you know," Hawke grinned as he grabbed Ghost's offered hand, and pushed himself off the ground.

Ghost patted his shoulder before disappearing in the mass of fighting people.

…

Itachi parried the man's incoming blow and gave a high kick in return to his face. His red clouded robe was blowing in the wind.

The Reaver flew through the air before smacking into the ground and sinking into unconsciousness.

Itachi turned his attention towards the incoming boat and gave an almost invisible smirk. He weaved through a couple of hand signs before placing his hand before his mouth, exhaling a huge fireball to the boat, killing everyone in it.

He then leaned backwards, dodging the incoming projectile. Turning his gaze to where the attack came from, he saw a large group of Reavers gathering in front of him, dead shinobi lying at their feet.

Itachi slid his left foot back for better support, and then dashed towards the group.

The Reavers in return grinned and tightened their hold around their weapons.

As soon as the Uchiha was within their range he ducked underneath the first swing and stabbed the nearest Reaver in the stomach. He then let himself drop to the ground, and used his hands to push himself off into a handstand and then planted both his feet into one of their faces, launching the Reaver into the air.

Itachi then flipped back onto his feet and grabbed a kunai faster than they could follow. He twirled the kunai in his hand before blocking one of the attacks; Itachi then grabbed the outstretched arm and pulled the man in front of him, effectively using him as a human shield.

After the man had served his use, Itachi dropped him to the ground, gashes and gaping holes littered the body.

Itachi jumped back and flicked his wrist, sending the kunai shooting out of his hand and into someone's eye socket.

He formed a few hand signs and a shadow clone appeared who immediately attacked the weakened group.

Naïve as the Reavers were and inexperienced with the jutsus that were used, they attacked the clone head on.

Itachi stood there, arms by his side. "They are blinded by their arrogance."

The clone exploded, killing everyone around it. Itachi turned around and walked away, ignoring the slaughter that had just occurred.

xXx

**Konoha, two days prior.**

Tsunade read the reports and still couldn't believe her eyes. There were multiple reports that there was massive troop movement that had just crossed the borders of Earth country. It made her wonder if she made the wrong choice.

It was at that moment that Shikamaru walked in. "Here's the latest report on the troop movement in Earth country."

It was short.

_Lady Hokage,_

_It has been confirmed that the Akatsuki and similar persons to the mercenary Ghost have been sighted heading for Earth country as well. _

_Their motives are unclear._

_Squad leader, Neji Hyuga_

Tsunade sighed and placed her head in her hands. "Did I make the wrong choice?"

There was a moment of silence before Shikamaru answered. "Yes and no. When Ghost and Itachi both came here, we couldn't be sure of their intentions no matter what they would have said." The Nara walked to her couch which she had in the corner next to the door. "But things have changed; if what they said is true then the answer is quite simple."

Tsunade closed her eyes. '_Troublesome Nara.' _

"Send Neji a message to keep following them until they have reached their destination. Also, make sure that they give us frequent updates."

"Of course, anything else?"

"Send out ANBU Squads, Wild Cat, Raven, Cyan, Hammer, Night, and Shinigami," she answered while she wrote the orders on a piece of paper. "Also send three medical squads with them, make sure that Ino's squad's part of it."

Tsunade handed the paper to Shikamaru who had stood up; he gave her a nod and walked out the door.

..

Shikamaru gave his credentials and then entered the ANBU headquarters. He walked through a long corridor before opening a door on the left which had an office behind it.

"What can I do for you?" the man behind the desk asked.

"I need you to gather these squads and bring them to one of your debriefing rooms," Shikamaru said as he handed over the piece of paper Tsunade had given him.

The man read it and narrowed his eyes before giving a single nod. "Right away, Sir."

Shikamaru turned around and walked back to where he came from, but not before muttering something that didn't pass the man behind the desk. "Troublesome bunch…"

* * *

><p>Kablow! Chapter 9 is done!<p>

A bit shorter than usual but It felt the right place to stop here:p

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I found it rather difficult to write but I hope I didn't mess is up too badly.

Please review if you got the time ;)


	10. Chapter 10: Twisted Truth

Howdy, I hope you're all prepared for chapter 10! If not, grab a beer/preferably a Corona and some chips and sit that ass down! Not a beer lover? Get yourself a Malibu and coca cola. Not a Malibu lover? Well…hmmm….some wine then or perhaps some other alcoholic beverage? (We're allowed because it's almost summer :P)

To everyone who reviewed: thanks for all the positive messages you left behind, it's great to know that people like this story. That said, I also enjoy constructive criticism, I always try to improve the story and when people point out the flaws, it makes it all the more easy for me.

Same goes for all the alerts I got: thank youuuuuu!

Anonymous reviewers:

Whiterose: I know! Go team…Naruchi? Correction, go team Itachi/Naruto!  
>Also Sakura bashing, I can do that no problem ;)<p>

Naruto11: I'm pretty sure that the ending of this story will surpise everyone, when I came up with the ending I was like…Damn, didn't even see that one coming:P (makes a lot of sense right?)

Starlight1701: you ask and I shall deliver! Ps: thanks for the review Weeeeeee!

Trigun: I can understand why you feel that way, but you must realize, there's a timegap of seven years between Naruto's disappearance and the events that are now taking place. I can assure you though that neither Sakura nor Sasuke won't get away that easily, got a lotttttt planned for them *insert evil laughter* (same goes for Kakashi). They may be back with the rest of Konoha 12 but they had to do a lot to earn their trust again, first flashback will be seen in the next chapter.

Unfortunately this chapter isn't Beta-checked because Fantomodrako is swamped with all sorts of stuff. (You still rock though ;) )

So that means that grammar etc. won't be that good. That said; Let please let me know if you find something that doesn't make any sense.

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 10**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 10 Twisted Truth~<p>

Ghost leaned on his new katana which had blood all over it. He panted heavily as he tried to regain his composure.

Night had come and gone, which meant that they were fighting for well over 10 hours. Things didn't go well, they had lost a lot of men and as time progressed, more and more Holders arrived on the beach. Akatsuki and the Hunter could stand their ground, but the regular shinobi didn't stand a chance.

He stood up and sheathed his katana; he walked towards the command post, ignoring the battle cries around him. The wind blew through his blonde hair, he had long removed the hood from his head; it narrowed his view too much.

His facemask had been scorned by a fire attack revealing a part of his lower face. He ducked underneath the flaps of the tent and noticed Pein, Mayu, Micheru, and Itachi.

"Whats the plan?" The blonde asked.

Pein walked around the table on which laid dozens of maps and battle plans. "We've lost well over half of our forces; our enemy however hasn't shown their true power yet.

It was then that a voice boomed over the battlefield. **"Rome where are you! Bring me Rome now!"**

"What was that?" Micheru asked.

"What did you do this time Rome?" Ghost asked, feigning annoyance.

Rome ignored him and was about to check it out when Mayu spoke up.

"Ghost, check it out, take anyone you want with you, but Rome stays here, I don't want him out there. We don't want to bite the guy's bait."

Ghost nodded, but didn't take anyone with him as he walked out of the tent.

"**Rome!"**

He saw Kisame who was walking towards the shouting man as well. "Sushi, you can go, I got this."

"Yeah and let you have all the fun with him, I don't think so."

Ghost just grunted and pushed himself past all the battling men and women to the front of the beach where a tall broad man dressed in red with a steel mask covering his face. In his hand he held an axe.

Ghost stopped in front of the man and eyed his mask. He noticed the red glowing eyes behind the slits and frowned.

The masked man gave the Hunter a look. **"You're not Rome."**

Ghost crossed his arms. "My name's Ghost, who are you? And why are you after Rome?"

"**I remember the name, your one of those Hunters, none of our scouts survived a battle against you, except for one, you're a dangerous man!" ** The man chuckled, "**I'm one of the lieutenants, Lord Kenpachi sends me to make sure that Rome will die."**

Ghost stretched the muscles in his arms. "I can't allow you to do that."

"**You can't stop me, even if your blue fish joins in."**

"My pet will stay just where he is" Ghost said as he ignored the creepy glare Kisame was giving him and formed a few hand signs. "Fūton: Atsugai!"

A massive tornado attacked the Lieutenant before it released its compressed energy and blasted the Lieutenant away.

Ghost was about to lower his guard when he grabbed a kunai and used it to block the incoming projectile's that came from the sandstorm look-alike that had erupted from the jutsu.

"**Impressive" **The man then launched at Ghost who had barely enough time to raise his kunai to block the incoming axe. Ghost retaliated by slamming his fist in the man's face.

The Lieutenant staggered back before he managed to recompose himself and attacked Ghost head on.

Ghost threw his kunai at the man who easily dodged it. The Hunter ran forward and in one swift motion, he let himself fall to his knees, effectively sliding underneath the axe and behind the man, he then grabbed his katana and twirled around, swinging his katana at the man's legs at the same time.

The Reaver saw it coming and jumped over the attack and gave Ghost a solid kick to the face.

Ghost fell on his back and groaned before standing back up; He tilted his head and grinned. "Is that all you got?" And with that both the Lieutenant and Ghost launched themselves at each other, weapons making similar motions.

xXx.

Mayu looked from the cliff at the edge of the forest. "This battle is over. We lost."

Pein gave a single nod. "We have, call the retreat."

Rome sighed. He signaled the man at the command post and gave a nod, moments later the tent burst into flames, not only to destroy any sensitive material but to signal all their men to retreat as well.

As orders for retreat were being shouted in their headsets, there was one man who ignored the call and kept on fighting.

"Ghost, Let's go!" Kisame shouted as he marched towards the two fighting men with difficulty, the mass of fighting shinobi was hindering his movements, especially when kunai and shuriken flew all around him.

Ghost jumped back and looked at Kisame, his eyes changed from blue to red, having thrown his glasses away moments ago. "**Cr**ap," he then looked back at his opponent who stood there casually. "**I gu**ess our **match **is over for now Lieutenant."

"**And you think I'll just let you leave? Guess again." ** And with that the Lieutenant dashed towards Ghost with the intent to smash him into the ground.

Ghost smirked and held his hand before him, aimed at the Lieutenant, "Chakra…Push!"

Surprised by the sudden attack the Reaver couldn't dodge it in time and the attack blasted him away and landed in the water.

"Let's go, let's go!" Ghost shouted as he made his way up the small slope surrounded by the retreating shinobi.

At was at that moment that all the water jutsu users appeared on the cliff and used a variety of water jutsu's that slammed the incoming enemies away, narrowly avoiding the shinobi.

Once the last shinobi reached the top, the shinobi who were proficient in earth style jutsu's planted multiple walls to slow the enemy down.

Ghost sprinted towards Pein and. "That trick gave us a couple of minutes at the most, we have to move now."

"Agreed, we've already sent the wounded men to Takigakure, we'll go that way." Pein responded as he signaled Itachi to relay the message.

Micheru butted in, "What about Iwa? We can't leave them behind!"

"We already informed them before we headed this way; if they listened to us then they have already evacuated most of the villages."

"And you actually think they will follow the advice of one of the Akatsuki?" Micheru bit back.

"Now is not the time, we'll solve this later, let's go now!" Rome joined in as he ran past them and looked over the cliff as he saw that slowly the Reavers were recollecting themselves.

Ghost nodded and quickly sheathed his katana before following the others, quickly followed by Mayu and Micheru, leaving Pein and Kisame standing at the cliff.

Kisame grunted. "It seems they have won the first round." And with that he followed the rest.

Pein stayed silent before he turned around and disappeared.

xXx

Kenpachi stood on the deck of his flagship 'the Skeleton', and gave a satisfied sigh after hearing the reports. They had taken the beach in Earth country and the main fleet was on its way to wave country.

The assault on Earth country was merely a diversion to distract the defending forces, and it had worked, not only had they delivered a painful blow to their numbers they had also gained but they had also established a foothold in the region, the assault on Iwagakure wouldn't be long now.

One thing that bugged him though was that his Lieutenant, T'ak had failed in taking out Rome, and instead had fought Ghost, who he had let get away. '_These Hunters are getting on my nerves, and what's worse is that they joined up with another group called the Akatsuki. They need to be taken care of now.'_

It was then that one of his officers walked up to him, "sir, here are the latest reports," He handed over a file. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"Those Hunters and Akatsuki are becoming a nuisance, I want you to form up a team of our best men, merged of course, and send them into the hidden villages, I want them to gather more information about our 'friends. Once that's done I want them to eliminate all the Hunters and Akatsuki members, Rome above all." Kenpachi calmly stated before walking off the deck, heading to his cabin.

xXx

Itachi stopped when he landed on the next branch and held his hand up, "Someone's coming."

Ghost landed next to him shortly followed by, Pein and Kisame and the remainders of their forces landed on the ground and out of view. "But who?"

Moments later a group of Anbu appeared in front of them, weapons drawn. "Identify yourselves!"

Kisame laughed. "Can't you see? I'm wearing a black cloak with red clouds, take a guess…"

Ghost had to restrain himself from smirking and instead remained stoic. "We don't have time for this, Anbu, I don't know from which village you're fr…" Ghost trailed off when he saw a particular Anbu with greyish hair.

Ghost smirked. "Well well it seems like Hatake has rejoined Anbu, got tired of teaching brats?"

Said Anbu stepped forward and took of his mask; making himself known that he was indeed Kakashi. "We've been looking for you; Lady Tsunade decided to help out even after the stunt you pulled

Itachi couldn't help but smile despite the tough battle they had. _'How can they not know that Ghost is actually Naruto, He looks almost exactly like Minato, but then again his whisker marks are gone so that might be the reason they don't put two and two together.'_

"Too late, we already lost the fight; they're probably now looking for us, so it's wise that we keep moving." Hawke said as he walked to the front panting heavily, he still wasn't recovered from his near death experience a couple of days earlier.

Kakashi slid his mask back over his face. "Lady Hokage wishes to talk to both Ghost and Itachi, after that our village is open for the rest of your forces to resupply, also, she wishes to speak to the person in charge."

Mayu stepped forward, I'll follow you back to your village then, but first we need some volunteers to stay in the Earth country and offer any help they may need."

Ghost was about to speak up but Mayu interrupted him.

"No not you Ghost, you heard the Anbu; you're expected in Konohagakure."

"I must object, Mayu-sama, the meeting can wait." Ghost said as he held his ground.

"No Ghost you'll head for Konoha, and that's final." Mayu ordered with a tone that left no room for argument.

Ghost glared at her. "Yes… Ma'am" Sarcasm and anger laced his voice.

It was then that Robatsu spoke. "I'll head for Iwa then."

"I'll join you Robatsu." Rome said as he walked over to him.

"Someone's gotta cover your backs; I guess it has to be me." Uesari said with a grin.

"It's settled then, once your successful in the evacuation, or if the battle's lost I want you to head out immediately, understood?"

The three nodded and headed towards Iwagakure.

"The rest of us will head for Takigakure, Itachi go with them to Konoha, Kisame you'll join him as well." Pein ordered.

"Let's go!" Mayu said and then quickly followed the Konoha Anbu.

Ghost briefly glanced at Itachi and sighed before he followed in Mayu's footsteps._ 'This is going to be a long week._'

xXx

Couple of days later, Konoha

Hinata stood in front of the main gate, flanked by two squads of Jounin.

A Chunin jumped from the roof and landed in front of her, "Lady Hinata, The group is four minutes out."

Hinata gave a short nod. "Good and what about Anbu squad seven?"

"They just left the Hokage's office and are heading for the Anbu headquarters."" The Chunin answered.

"All of them?" Hinata asked. Ever since the announcement that Itachi Uchiha and Ghost were coming back to the village it caused quite a reaction among the civilians and shinobi. Sasuke however didn't take it quite well; in fact he was already halfway on his war path until he was cornered by Tsunade and was ordered to contain himself, until the shinobi world was back at peace, or as peaceful as it could be.

"Yes, everyone"

Hinata smiled at the Chunin and dismissed him. She still couldn't believe that Sasuke had actually cooperated, maybe it was because of the short fight they had when the two S ranked criminals had come for an alliance.

It had caused a lot of worry that two S ranked shinobi could take on the Hokage, an Anbu squad and two advisors, and win. Maybe that had cleared up his mind.

It was then that the group walked through the gate.

Hinata straightened her posture and walked to the group. She could spot Itachi and Ghost right away, the blonde hair she had memorized since the day at the jounin exams; she found his hair strangely familiar, also his sunglasses was a dead giveaway.

"Welcome, my name is Hinata Hyuuga. I'm here to escort you to Lady Hokage." She greeted as she bowed to the newcomers.

Mayu bowed as well quickly followed by Micheru. "It's a pleasure to meet you Hinata, my name's Mayu Sun. and the young woman next to me is Micheru Sun." She glanced to Ghost, Kisame and Itachi but they just remained motionless, Ghost only crossed his arms to defy Mayu even further.

"Excuse the behavior of my companions, they should know better." She glared at Ghost before turning her attention back to the Hyuuga.

"That's quite alright, we're used to it by now," She said calmly. "If you'll follow me, as for the Anbu squads, you're expected at the headquarters."

The small group walked through the streets, headed for the Hokage tower. Ghost saw the villagers giving them frightful glances. He smirked, "Don't enjoy it too much, Kisame."

Kisame who was grinning like a madman let out a single bark of laughter. "Like you aren't."

"Maybe just a little," Ghost saw a kid crossing the street in front of them; the kid then turned to the group and waved happily. It was then that a woman ran towards the happy child and qucikly dragged him of the streets.

The other civilians from the sides of the main road stayed as far away from the passing group as possible. They whispered and pointed at mainly Itachi, clearly remembering him from the Uchiha massacre.

It didn't go unnoticed that a few pointed Ghost as well.

Ghost saw the ordeal and felt amused. "Don't you just love fear?"

"People like you make me feel sick." Hinata said between clenched teeth, eyeing the blonde Hunter.

"Luckily I don't care." Ghost said with a smile that made Hinata narrow her eyes.

Ghost then slowed his pace until he walked next to Micheru, "You know, you never told me that you were related to Mayu."

"I figured everyone knew by now, but then again when I was introduced into the group you weren't there yet. Hmm well now you know." Micheru said with a happy look on her face, while deep inside, she felt somewhat disturbed by Ghost's comment moments before.

Ghost focused his attention back on the road and noticed that they had almost arrived at the gates of the Hokage tower.

The Anbu in front stopped them. "Lady Hinata, I presume that these are the guests?"

Hinata nodded. "They are"

"They know that drawing their weapons is prohibited?"

Kisame stared at the man. "Of course we know, now step aside, we don't have all day."

"Mind your manners, Hoshigake." Mayu snapped.

They stepped through the gate and went inside, as they had guessed there were shinobi guarding the halls as well as the stairs leading to the office.

"I guess they're scared that we'll try something again." Itachi said as he was the first to follow Hinata.

"Just safety precautions, would you have expected anything different after what you both did last time?"

"You're right, next time when you try to arrest us; I won't do something as stupid as running away." Ghost replied.

Hinata's interest peaked at those words.

"I'll just kill them instead."

"Ghost! Shut your mouth immediately!" Mayu ordered, with a laughing Kisame on the background.

"We're here." And with that she knocked twice on the door before opening it.

"Lady Hokage, our guests are here." Hinata said with a short bow and left, but not before sending a glare at Ghost and Kisame, whom both in turn smirked at her.

Tsunade stood up from behind her desk and walked to the group. "Welcome to Konoha, I'm Tsunade. And the two men beside me are Shikaku Nara and Jiraiya, one of the Sannin."

Mayu gave a short bow. "My name's Mayu Sun and this is Micheru Sun, I don't think I need to introduce the others though."

"We've met before." Tsunade stated somewhat coldly.

"Unfortunately" Ghost added.

Mayu chose to ignore the remark. "Lady Hokage, I assure you that both Ghost and Itachi will keep themselves in check.

Tsunade nodded. "Even though we had our differences in the past, we now have a common enemy, and while I refused the offer earlier, I'd like to reconsider and have the land of Fire join with your group against this enemy."

Mayu smiled. "We're glad to hear that, we can use all the help we can get and with Konoha participating, I'm sure that we'll be able to turn the tide."

xXx

After talking to the Konoha specialist Shikaku as well as Jiraiya they had gotten up to speed about the invasion.

Tsunade then turned to Ghost who was softly talking to Itachi. "Why couldn't you tell us about this after your battle against those two at the arena?"

Ghost stopped talking and turned his attention to the Sannin. "Like any of you would've believed me." And with that he turned his attention back to Itachi and continued where he left off.

Tsunade glared at the man. "Mayu, you can use our village as your base of operation should you want that of course."

"That sounds like a good plan, Konoha, is a great place and not too far out of reach of the other countries."

Tsunade sat back down at her desk and grabbed a stack of papers. "Good! I'll make the arrangements to have a place set available for you, I got one question though, I know everyone's identity within your group, Kisame Hoshigake as well yes," she said after catching Kisame's eyes. "I don't however know Ghost's real identity; would it be too much to ask for his? I can't trust people behind hoods, glasses and facemasks."

"It's not going to happen, Hokage, so get over it." Ghost grunted before Mayu could even speak up.

The Hokage turned to Mayu who hesitantly looked to Ghost.

"Ghost, does it matter that much to you?" Mayu asked.

"You know the answer; I'm not giving up my real name, as for my sunglasses, why does it bother you that much if you got Hatake who wears a facemask and his headband over one of his eyes, hmm?"

"Kakashi I trust, you I don't."

'_Damn she got me there.' _Ghost sighed and took of his glasses and ripped of his damaged facemask; he winced at the bright light, which didn't go unnoticed by Mayu and Micheru, "Happy now?"

"Very…" Tsunade said sarcastically before trailing off when she saw the spitting image of Minato. "Minato?"

'_Oh boy'._ Ghost placed his sunglasses back on, covering his blue eyes and shook his head. "No I'm not Minato, I just resemble the guy, now could we go please, I need a drink to get this crap out of my head."

Jiraiya who saw the whole ordeal, stood there gaped as well, the man looked exactly like Minato!

Tsunade managed to recollect herself, "Yes, uh, P-please follow Jiraiya, he'll show you to one of the hotels."

Jiraiya waved with his hand to follow him and then walked out the door.

"Ghost, do you have a moment?"

Ghost turned back to Tsunade and was seriously tempted to ignore her and walk out the door, but instead spoke up. "What is it, Hokage?"

Tsunade waved the others to continue and then turned her attention back to Ghost. "When we last met, you told me that Naruto's dead. Did you just make it up to see me suffer or were you serious?"

Ghost felt a pang of pity for the woman, until he remembered that she gave him a sentence that in his eyes was worse than death. "I wasn't saying that to hurt you. Naruto is dead." He lied.

Tsunade's eyes filled with tears. "H-how did he die?"

"He died in a battle against Orochimaru's henchmen, Me and Itachi met up to assassinate Orochimaru and found Naruto with the same intent, we all partnered up and tried to sneak in, it all went downhill and eventually were surrounded." Ghost sighed. He never had to lie about how he died. "We managed to fight most of them off until Orochimaru joined in and went toe to toe with Itachi, leaving Naruto and me against the rest of his forces."

Ghost walked to the couch in the corner and sat down. "Eventually he just couldn't handle it anymore and succumbed to the amount of enemies.

_Flashback_

Naruto walked to the edge of the forest and crouched. It was the middle of the night. He was wearing a dark blue cloak that covered the rest of his outfit. (A/N: The same cloak Naruto and the rest uses when they are going to look for Itachi in the series, only dark blue)

"You're right on time" A voice softly said.

Naruto twirled around and saw a man standing he had last seen two years ago. "It's good to see you again Itachi, how have you been?"

"I've been fine, how have the last two years been for you?" Itachi said as he crouched down next to him and reached for something inside his cloak.

"Not too bad, I met up with your friend Hawke, he took me under his wing and trained me."

"He was the one who gave me the information about the Unknown's that are coming," Itachi laid something on the ground what revealed to be a map when he unfolded it. "Alright, the camp has a large fence covering every inch so simply jumping over it will be out of the question since they'll spot us right away, we got a lot of patrols as well, I doubt we'll be able to slip inside without noticing the guards. "

Naruto nodded as he studied the map as well as the actual camp in the distance. It was built in a clearing in the forest, and was covered by a Genjutsu. "So you want to hit the camp hard and fast?"

"That's exactly what I thought. If we both use Kage Bunshins and swarm the camp, that way we'll both sneak in his underground hideout and search for Orochimaru," Itachi softly spoke as he folded the map and put it back in his cloak. "Also, because no one can know you're working together with someone of the Akatsuki, you'll need to henge you're hair and your whisker marks. And I've got a spare cloak as well just to make sure."

"Sounds good"

Itachi reached for a scroll inside his cloak and opened it before summoning the items. Lying on top was a folded cloak and a straw hat.

Naruto shed the cloak he was wearing, revealing his dark blue shirt and pants. He then grabbed the Akatsuki cloak and put it on. He looked at himself in the reflection of a small pool of water. "I always wanted to wear one of these, it looks awesome." Naruto said with a grin.

"You're the first one who ever wore an Akatsuki cloak, who isn't a member of our organization." Itachi said with a rare smile.

"Yeah, well the cloaks may look good; the people wearing are still bastards."

"You'll get your chance one day," and with that Itachi stood up and motioned for Naruto to follow him, discussing with him the best course of action.

They walked for about five minutes before they both split op to opposite sides of the camp and waited.

Naruto was crouched behind a tree and could easily spot several squads patrolling inside the camp. He was waiting for Itachi to get into position.

He heard a twig snap and two voices softly talking beside him so he slowly turned around and saw a patrol walking past him, a couple of feet away.

He then, slowly took more cover behind the tree and put his hands to his mouth, and made a perfect imitation of a chippering bird and made the sound three times with short pauses.

It was used to tell the other person to wait with the attack until the coast was clear.

Naruto eyed the patrol, they weren't paying attention to the sound he made and mentally sighed in relief.

After waiting for a couple of minutes he made the bird sound again.

He held his breath and waited. He heard an owl in the distance and knew that it had to be Itachi, he was beginning his assault!

He put his hands together and formed a sign "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two large clouds of smoke covered a small part of the forest, raising the alarm of the nearby camp.

"Let's go!" The real Naruto shouted and started sprinting towards the camp, followed by hundreds of clones.

The shinobi inside the camp formed two long lines just outside the camp, roughly the same length of the incoming clones Naruto and Itachi were sending. They grabbed their shuriken and started hurling them towards the invaders.

The real Itachi ducked underneath one of the shuriken and countered with some shuriken of his own, following his example were his clones who grabbed a kunai or shuriken and threw it towards the men in front of the fence.

Screams of pain filled the night.

xXx

Naruto flicked his wrist and the kunai in his hand flew towards a stumbling wounded man trying to get away. "They never stood a chance."

Itachi snapped a man's neck and then stood up, "They must've sent out a distress signal, we have to hurry."

They ran towards the entrance of the underground hideout, which was at the center of the camp.

"How are we going to get through that, knowing the snake, he's probably reinforced the doors with chakra."

His question however was answered soon when the large steel doors opened.

"That's going to be a…" Naruto started before his voice got caught in his throat.

"Problem" Itachi finished with a mildly surprised look on his face as he saw the very large group of shinobi standing there.

Naruto reached for his pouch and grabbed two kunai. "We have to go through them if we want to reach Orochimaru."

Itachi copied his movement and grabbed two kunai of his own, after sending a short nod to Naruto he dashed towards his opponent, his temporary black haired teammate quickly followed.

Itachi easily sidestepped the first attack and effortlessly blocked the second, he gave a low swipe with his feet and knocked one of his many opponents on the ground, without hesitating for a second he stabbed the downed enemy without even looking at him.

Naruto in the meantime had finished off his second foe and made a couple of Kage Bunshins and was picking off his targets one by one but still at a much slower rate than Itachi.

Even though both Naruto and Itachi were putting up quite a fight they were slowly pushed back by their overwhelming numbers.

Itachi and Naruto were both capable of handling Chunin ranked opponents, but when their enemies teamed up, it became too much.

Naruto panted heavily, he swiped the sweat of his forehead and looked at Itachi, who wasn't in the same state he was, but still was showing exhaustion. "Now what?" Naruto managed to spit out.

Itachi was about to answer when someone else butted in.

"Kukukuku, Itachi, why are you of all people after me?" a pale man said as he stepped forward.

"You still have something that belongs to us, Orochimaru." Itachi lied calmly, covering the real reason they were there.

"It's grown attached to me, now if you two would act like two Genin and surrender," Orochimaru said with a sick smile on his face that Naruto remembered from his days when he was still in Konoha. "It would make things so much easier." The Snake Sannin finished

"And why don't you just die, you slippery snake." Naruto bit back.

Orochimaru turned his attention to Itachi's companion, the sick smile still covering his face." So you can actually speak."

"Let's just get this over with," Itachi said annoyed and send glance at Naruto. "Can you hold of Orochimaru's men?"

"No problem, leave that to me." Naruto turned his back on Orochimaru and grabbed a handful of shuriken. "Just make sure he doesn't get away."

Itachi turned his attention back to the snake lover while Naruto engaged himself in a fight with the large group of enemies. "You must realize that you don't stand a chance against me, Orochimaru."

The Sannin walked confidently towards the Uchiha. "Kukukuku, I have the advantage Itachi-kun, you've been fighting my men for a while, it has tired you down, as well as your companion. It won't be long before he succumbs to their numbers!"

"He'll be fine; you should focus your attention on me." And with that he suddenly placed his left hand at his mouth in a particular seal. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Orochimaru was caught slightly off guard but managed to dodge out of the way of the small fireballs and retaliated with an attack of his own. " Sen'eijashu!" Snakes shot out from his sleeves and went straight for the Uchiha.

Itachi was already prepared and threw the shuriken he had in his hands, hitting the snakes head on causing them to drop dead to the ground before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Orochimaru ran past the smoke and met Itachi halfway, his infamous sword Kusanagi in his hand.

Itachi met him halfway, a kunai in his own hand. He shifted his stance into a defensive one and held his kunai in front of him.

Orochimaru struck first, slamming his sword into Itachi's kunai. Itachi grimaced but held his ground and used his made a fist of his free hand and punched the Sannin in the face, causing him to stagger back.

Itachi used the moment to make his next move, again without making any handsigns. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" A huge fire ball went straight for Orochimaru.

Not being able to dodge out of the way, he dove to the ground, causing the fireball to scorn the back of his shirt.

Orochimaru angrily stood up and quickly made his way to Itachi, awfully resembling a slithering snake.

Itachi charged the snake bastard and engaged him in a close combat fight where a mix of clashing metal and swinging fists were combined, as they unconsciously left the hideout and into the forest.

Orochimaru blocked a low swipe and retaliated with a kick to his side and followed up with disarming the Uchiha using the momentum he created when he kicked him.

After he had disarmed him Orochimaru didn't hesitate for a second and swiped at Itachi's arms giving him a short but deep cut that crossed his wrist.

Orochimaru grinned. "You look tired Itachi-'kun'"

Itachi gave a rare smirk. "Haven't you noticed? I haven't used my Sharingan yet."

The Sannin's eyes widened in fear before he narrowed his eyes and licked his lips like an animal eyeing his meal.

Itachi made the first move when he threw a handful of shuriken.

"I expect more from you Itachi-kun!" and with that he used Kawarimi to dodge the incoming projectile.

Itachi with his Sharingan active could easily track the snake and shun-shined behind him, a kunai slid out the sleeve of his Akatsuki robe and plunged it in the man's back, he then followed up with a kick at the exact same spot the kunai was embedded.

Orochimaru stumbled forward before turning around, his eyes burned with hatred.

Itachi didn't wait for him to catch his breath and focused his chakra before placing his hand in front of his mouth. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

An even bigger fireball then before went straight for Orochimaru who wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

"Doton: Doryūheki!"

Itachi sighed. "Keep your pets out of this Orochimaru."

"Against you? I don't think so, Kukuku" Orochimaru brushed his hand through his hair.

"Lord Orochimaru, we have shinobi from Kusa's outpost inbound, they must've noticed the fighting that occurred here." Kabuto spoke, keeping his eyes on Itachi all the while.

"Have you made the preparations, Kabuto?"

"Of course."

"I'm afraid I have to stop our fight, Itachi-kun." Orochimaru sweetly said, feeling more confident with his right hand man beside him.

"And you think I'll just let you leave?." And with that he was just about to rush towards the two before he was interrupted by Kabuto.

"I'd look towards your companion; he's having a tough time."

Itachi turned his gaze towards the fight which he could barely see and noticed that Naruto was kneeling and panting heavily.

"I'll finish you off later." And with that Itachi flickered away.

Naruto struggled to get to his feet. "I-is that all you got…" he managed to say between his puffs of air,

Itachi appeared beside Naruto and helped him on his feet. "Let's go, Orochimaru escaped, and from what I heard, there are Kusa shinobi on their way here. We need to get out of here."

And without another word he grabbed Naruto's arm and swung it over his shoulder, with his free hand he quickly threw a shuriken towards the incoming enemies who had tried to use Itachi's lack of attention to his benefit.

With the shinobi lying dead on the ground with a shuriken in his throat Itachi and Naruto disappeared in cloud of smoke.

_- End of flashback-_

"And that's how he died." Ghost said as he twisted his version of the failed assassination attempt on Orochimaru.

Tsunade had tried to remain calm and for the first part of the story she had felt immensely proud at Naruto's attempt to take down the snake freak, that even though he left Konoha he still fought against its enemies. But once that thought had died down the only feeling that she had left was sadness.

Ghost stood up and stretched his legs. "Story time is over, do with it what you will." And with that he walked through the door and closed it behind him, leaving a silently crying Tsunade in his wake.

Ghost sighed in satisfaction. '_Pure and utter satisfaction'_

xXx

The two days later Kisame walked through the streets with Itachi beside him. "Perhaps we could go to the bar we went last time we were here, when we were looking for Naruto, for old time's sake?"

Itachi smiled. "They did serve some good food and sake."

They crossed the street and walked towards the bar; they pushed the flaps aside and were served with an amusing sight.

Before them sat Ghost, his legs crossed, casually sipping from his drink. Standing at the bar to his right were Neji and Sasuke who were drilling their eyes into the Hunter's calm face.

Sasuke noticed the newcomers and his eyes immediately became red, with three tomoe's surrounding his pupils.

Ghost turned his attention to the newcomers and grinned, he had his facemask removed as well as his hood, revealing his bandana and sunglasses. "Now this just became a whole lot more interesting."

Kisame grinned and sat down next to him, ordering a drink as well. Itachi sat in front of Ghost, ignoring Sasuke's glare. "It has been a while, little brother hasn't it? Last time we met you weren't in a very talkative mood."

Sasuke who had barely managed to calm himself down stormed out the bar before he would do something he'd regret.

"I'd say he's still not very talkative, Itachi."

Itachi ignored him and focused on his drink.

After finishing his drink Ghost stood up waved his goodbye and exited the bar and followed the street, not really caring where it took him. _'Where could Orochimaru be? Word will spread about the invasion in Tsuchi no Kuni_, _and if he finds out_ _about the Reavers, he'll no doubt try and ally with them.'_ Ghost sighed and crossed his arms; he held his head low and continued to walk aimlessly. _'Orochimaru has to be taken care off and fast!'_

"Ghost!"

Ghost looked up and saw Hawke running towards him, getting awkward looks from the citizens. "Since when did you arrive here?" knowing Hawke had left the village to do some scouting

"I've just arrived this morning, but that's not the reason I looked for you. The others are back; I've just received word from Micheru, their waiting for us at the north gate."

Ghost nodded, "lead the way." And with those words they headed to the gate.

They arrived at the gate after a short walked and walked towards Mayu and Micheru who were crouched down, healing someone lying on the ground.

"Mayu-sama we're here."

Mayu slowly stood up and turned around; her eyes were full of sorrow. She tried to find the right words but couldn't.

"What's wrong?" Hawke asked, already regretting his question.

Mayu sadly looked at Hawke and Ghost and momentarily closed her eyes. "Uesari is dead."

"Wha?" Ghost managed to say, his eyes wide with surprise.

* * *

><p>KABLOW!<p>

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it.

Next chapter: a Kakashi centric one coming up!

Jutsu list.

Fūton: Atsugai - Wind Style: Pressure Damage

Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu

Katon: Hōsenka no jutsu - Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu

Sen'eijashu – Striking Shadow Snakes

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu

Doton: Doryūheki - Earth Style: Mud Wall

Again, if you find anything that is really out of place let me know ;)

Don't forget to send a review when you got a minute!

See you all next time!


	11. Chapter 11: Selfish Sasuke

To all Mass effect fans: I'm writing a mass effect story, for details check out my profile (Yes I hated the ending and yes I'm part of Rme3 and HTL)

I decided to post this chapter unbeta'ed as well seeing that no one gave complaints…yet. The next chapter will be checked out though ;)

I hope you'll all like this chapter and if you have any suggestions regarding my grammar etc. let me know!

Anonymous reviewers (might be wise for the other readers to read it over as well!):

Narutoluver896: I have some big stuff planned for the Leaf and none of it is very pretty I'll tell you that. However! There will be moments in the story where people will think that I'm abandoning the theme of the story which is ultimately Ghost/Naruto struggle with his ghost's from the past. (Or you could say the theme is split up between the fight against Reavers and Ghost's past.) But rest assured I won't.

I don't have a pairing decided at the moment but I can't see Ghost/Naruto pairing up with anyone of the Leaf. Also Sakura's emotional moment when she heard about Ghost/Naruto is an important part for the story.

Why? That's because when I read stories about how Naruto leaves Konoha I often read how Konoha 11 reacts very surprisingly and happy that he's back, which I agree to a certain point.

Sakura (in my story) in that case is no different, because she may have hated his guts at that moment; she was still his friend before the whole incident, as was Sasuke (no matter how you look at it). They had their laughs a lot of times but also they had their moments of grievance when Sarutobi died. Those moments I think define their friendship and to completely write it off during a single moment blind anger from Sakura and Sasuke's part is stupid.

That said of course they're not off the hook, not by a long shot and what they said that day will come back to bite them in the ass *insert evil laughter* (neither is Kakashi)

Alrighty that was a long response! :P if you have any further questions I'll be happy to answer them as long as they don't spoil the story.

Trigun: Glad to hear you're not giving up on me ;) I plan to make the wait worthwhile!  
>Funny you mentioned Hinata, because I have something in store for the three of them ;)<br>When I started writing this story I hadn't planned on Sasuke staying in the village, but Sasuke has a small part to play in the plot. So I had to give him a role to play during the story as well and at that moment I decided to allow Sasuke back in the group.

I don't merely want to tell Ghost/Naruto's story but I also want to tell the story from someone else's point of view and of course what happened in the past seven years (Sasuke is a part of that).

This chapter is a flashback chapter mostly but it won't go deeply into the past of Sasuke and the rest of Konoha 11. That arc is planned somewhat later and it will explain everything that happened so have a little patience ;)

Almost everything I write in this story I write it for a reason!

That was a very long A/N! now without further ado I present to you chapter 11!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost chapter 11**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 11 Selfish Sasuke~<p>

Kakashi walked through the door of his apartment and kicked it shut behind him in a lazy manner, not even bothering to look up from his small orange book.

He slumped down on his couch and sighed. Things had changed so much the past seven years, and it seemed like Naruto's betrayal had been the start of it. After Sasuke heard that his blonde teammate had left the village he distanced himself from the others even more then he normally would. Sakura started focusing on her training instead of trying to get Sasuke's attention.

But what the silver haired elite didn't expect above all else was the forgiveness the rookies had eventually shown towards Sasuke and Sakura. The Yamanaka he expected but not the others.

Three years had passed when they had begrudgingly accepted him back into the group, he remembered Sasuke stepped up to him, apologizing for what he had done, he had told them that the reason that he had abandoned them was for revenge and told them about his brother.

It took a while and for a long time he had thought that Sasuke had completely destroyed the strange friendship he had built with them.

Sasuke spent a lot of uncomfortable times with the rookies together and it seemed that Sasuke was trying his best to make up for the huge mistakes he had made, So when the Copycat found out he almost let his perverted book fall…._Almost._

However Kakashi wasn't fooled easily and he could still see the hate in the Uchiha's eyes, the determination to kill the man he once called his big brother. His little talk he had with him hadn't helped before his betrayal and it didn't work the second time he spoke with Sasuke about it.

Then again, the silver haired Jounin would lie to himself if he would've stood in Sasuke's shoes and simply turned his back to it. Though leaving the village wasn't what he would've done.

Yet, when word had spread that the Akatsuki was spotted in one of the major villages in the land of Sound roughly two year after Naruto's disappearance. Fear had gripped at the heart of Tsunade and had formed multiple squads which consisted of some of the rookies who had made it to Chunin and multiple Anbu squads as well.

Sasuke was the first who volunteered.

Kakashi knew what it meant, Akatsuki was looking for Naruto, it was no secret that Naruto had left the village and it was no secret that he even laid low for a short while in the land of the waves.

If Konoha knew, you could bet your ass that sooner or later the Akatsuki would as well.

_Flashback, three years after Naruto´s disappearance._

Kakashi walked to the cliff and eyed the village below which how humorous it may sound showed a peaceful aura despite it being under Orochimaru's rule.

Glancing to his left he saw a determined Sasuke with an equally determined Sakura. Behind him were the other Rookies, though he couldn't really call them that anymore.

Turning his head to the trees that surrounded the village he barely saw one of the ANBU squads positioned there.

"Alright, the village is completely surrounded, no one will leave this village without us knowing it," Kakashi told the former Rookies. "As you know we're here to find and eliminate the Akatsuki agents. However, the only reason you are all here is because of your ties to Naruto and if Naruto is here you are our best bet in convincing him to come back."

"You got your ord-"It was then that the sound of an explosion filled the air.

Kakashi and the others snapped their heads to the village; they could see that smoke filled the air from small building that was mostly destroyed.

"What the hell just happened!" Tenten shouted.

"Did one our Anbu squads attack?" Sakura asked as she turned to her former Sensei.

"Unlikely, if I have to make a guess I'd say that our enemy has found their target." Kakashi said, his one visible eye narrowed, no trace of his usual laziness visible.

"You mean they found…" Hinata started.

"Naruto…" Sasuke finished, his face revealing no emotion. Though Kakashi knew better, the youngster was a genius in masking his emotions.

Kakashi nodded. "Change of plans, Sasuke, your with me we'll meet up with Yamato at second building on the left behind the west gate. The rest form up in squads of three and four. Make a perimeter in a close radius around the destroyed building, but do not engage anyone unless they try to break through."

Initially surprised Sasuke nodded and followed Kakashi as he sped up towards the gate.

The remainders split up into three groups and disappeared.

XxX

"Did you really have to blow up the entire building? All Itachi said was to draw their attention while I sneak out! Not blow something up in the progress while I'm still here!" Naruto shouted at the man.

The man turned around, his dark robe flapped around him. "Brat, you may earned Itachi's trust but you haven't earned mine, so shut that small mouth of yours unless you want me to rip you to shreds with Samehada!"

Naruto mumbled something about blue fish and a sword wrapped in toilet paper.

The blue Akatsuki member took a step towards the kid and glared at the kid as his killing intention leaked towards him.

Naruto froze and put his hands up in defense. "Calm down calm down!"

Itachi stepped towards the blonde and handed him a scroll. "You need to go, they have just entered the village, and from what my crow relayed is that there are multiple Anbu squads outside the village as well. The East gate is the only guarded by two Anbu squads; all other exits are guarded by at least three squads. Kisame you'll go with Naruto and make sure he escapes, we can't have Konoha find out what we're planning, and we know they're very capable of extracting information out of their prisoners," Itachi gave a small smile when he noticed Naruto's sneer. "Besides I doubt that Naruto-kun here wants to go back."

"You got that right, oh and Itachi, what's in the scroll?" Naruto asked, almost having forgotten to ask what the scroll contained.

"The scroll there contains a crow, and another scroll with an address and a couple of Katon jutsu's, with what you told me you'll find some use for it later. If you summon the crow and give him the order to return to me I'll know if you require my assistance and we'll meet up on the address that's written on the other scroll."

Itachi turned his head towards west part of the city. "They entered the city, you have to go now."

Naruto nodded and turned around dashing towards eastern gate, closely followed by Kisame.

"Brat, look," Kisame warned as he pointed to the east gate.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he saw more Leaf Shinobi incoming, he quickly performed a henge to change the colour of his hair into dark brown; he also changed his hair from spikey to long hair tied into a ponytail.

"We have to get into the alleys; you kinda stand out, big guy!" Naruto shouted as he took a sharp turn and ran into an alleyway with Kisame right behind him.

Naruto hugged the wall and slowly turned around a corner and saw another alleyway that branched into smaller ones. "Perfect"

Itachi sat down on a destroyed wall of the building Kisame had blown up earlier. He looked towards the rooftops in front of him and noticed that Oto nin were fighting the other Anbu squads that did enter the village. '_Wondered why no one was investigating the explosion, now I know …Still, I doubt that this small detachment of Oto nin is capable of Anbu black ops with chunin and Jounin shinobi on top of that. '_

"I should've known that you'd be here." A voice said.

Itachi casually turned his gaze in front of him. "Sharingan Kakashi…and," He smiled. "Sasuke…"

Next to Kakashi stood Sasuke who trembled in rage; his Sharingan active.

"Have you come to kill me little brother? I'll tell you now that you won't succeed, not even with Kakashi or with the Chunin level shinobi who have me surrounded. You underestimate me, Kakashi."

"You overestimate yourself; Sasuke here has improved a great deal and is at least Jounin level."

Itachi sighed and leaned with his head on his hand. "Is that so Sasuke? Well, Kakashi, you're an Elite Jounin while you're at least Anbu level. And you didn't even land a scratch on me last time."

"Where is Naruto?" Kakashi asked with blazing eyes, his Hitai-ate pulled up revealing his Sharingan

"So you're looking for him, well, you just missed him."

"What?" Sasuke hissed, barely able to keep himself in check.

"Kisame is pursuing him as a matter of fact, we almost had him until he," pointed to the destroyed building behind him. "Blew up this building in an attempt to take Kisame down, you should've seen Kisame's face." Itachi chuckled which was very uncharacteristic of him**.**

"You're delaying us! I should've known, all this time talking gave Kisame more time!" Kakashi reached for his headset when another explosion occurred just outside the village. "Anbu squads report!"

"That was your first wrong move."

Itachi appeared in front of him and gave a bone shattering blow to the copy cat's face who slammed into the ground. Using the momentum to his advantage he quickly swept Sasuke's feet away from under him and kicked him in the stomach followed by a Katon Hōsenka no jutsu, which blasted Sasuke through a nearby wall right into a dinner room where a small family were huddled close together under the table.

Sasuke pulled himself to his feet and sneered and formed a couple of hand sings at a fast rate before placing his hand in front of his mouth. : Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!

Itachi mimicked the move and sent an even bigger fireball.

The two attacks collided against each other and for a moment and for a moment it seemed like a stalemate, but Itachi merely applied more chakra and it soon overpowered Sasuke, forcing himself to grab the table the family were hiding underneath and flipping it over, using it as cover, applying chakra at the same time.

Once the flames died down Sasuke stood up ignoring the civilians that were thanking him and clutching his pants begging him not to leave. Freeing himself from their grasp he jumped outside and saw that Kakashi was engaging Itachi in a Taijutsu fight, backed up by Lee and Neji who, apparently had decided to help them out.

Sasuke performed three hand signs and aimed his hand at the ground as lightning erupted around his hands. "Chidori…" He whispered.

Itachi noticed the sudden surge of chakra and grabbed Neji by the throat and slammed him into the ground, creating a small crater. The Akatsuki member dodged Lee's kick and ran in a straight line towards his younger brother.

Sasuke noticed his charge and became even more determined he gave a battlecry and tried to ram his Chidori straight through Itachi's heart.

Itachi in return dodged the attack but gave a short grunt when two Kunai were thrown his way, one imbedded in his thigh and the other nicked his side.

Using Sasuke's surprise against him he grabbed his younger brother's outstretched arm and threw him against the next incoming attacker, the Taijutsu specialist Lee.

"Hakke Kūshō!"The Hyūga shouted as he thrust the palm of his hand forward, towards Itachi's exposed back.

Sensing the focused chakra, Itachi quickly used Kawarimi and replaced himself with a piece of brick from the ruined building.

Itachi grabbed a handful of shuriken and threw them at Lee, knowing that the Hyūga would simply deflect them with one of their clan jutsu should he throw it towards him.

The Konoha traitor quickly duplicated the shuriken with shuriken kage bunshin no jutsu, though keeping his hands at his side and not uttering a single word.

Lee initially prepared for the small amount of shuriken took a surprising step back, not in the least prepared for the even larger amount of shuriken.

Not having enough time to dodge he grabbed a kunai and instead would try to block everything he could.

Noticing moments before due to his Byakugan, Neji jumped in front of Lee. "Hakkeshō Kaiten!"

Neji rotated around at high speed, creating a defense purely made of chakra, blocking every shuriken Itachi had thrown.

"Thank you Neji-kun, you have saved my life!" Lee exclaimed.

Neji panted lightly before straightening himself and nodded in response to Lee.

Itachi ignored Neji's interverence and instead jumped on a roof, effectively dodging Kakashi's Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu.

"This fight is over" Itachi stated and turned around, jumping from roof to roof.

"I don't think so!" Sasuke shouted as he stood across from his older brother. He formed a couple of handsigns.

Kakashi, who had turned towards Sasuke, noticed the seals he made. "Sasuke don't! There are too many civilians in the area!"

Sasuke in return ignored him and brought his hand once again towards his mouth. "Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"

An enormous dragon made purely out of fire charged towards the Akatsuki member, destroying every building in its path.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, before activating his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Amaterasu" Black flames erupted and clashed with the dragon before burning straight through it. Then as quickly as it started the flames disappeared, with Itachi nowhere in sight.

Kakashi jumped on a roof and saw that the village which was divided in three districts had only two left; a whole district had been destroyed leaving only rubble and bodies behind. Kakashi's eyes drooped in sadness. _'We did all this, all those innocent civilians, they're dead and Itachi still lives and we're no step closer to Naruto then we were before._ Kakashi sighed in defeat. "Scout the town for Itachi or his accomplice! If you find them don't engage, relay your position and fall back!"

He received acknowledgements through his headset and saw them jump from roof to roof or running through the street. He turned to Sasuke who landed next to him. Without uttering another word he grabbed Sasuke by the throat and pulled him close towards him. "If you ever and I mean EVER ignore my orders or kill innocent civilians so that you can have your revenge…_I'll kill you!"_ Kakashi hissed barely able to keep his rage in check. "You never, involve civilians!" and with that he pushed Sasuke away who slipped over the edge of the roof and fell on the streets.

Sasuke laid there for a couple of seconds in anger before closing his eyes in defeat, he nodded once.

XxX

Naruto jumped from branch to branch, Kisame beside him. "You think we were followed?" he asked the blue colored shinobi.

"I don't think so, we killed them before they could relay their message; all we have to do now is wait for Itachi at Oruca town as planned, and then we go our separate ways." Kisame said.

Naruto sighed in relief and nodded. "This was too darn close, but why the hell would Itachi give me the scroll if we were meeting up anyways?"

Kisame shook his head at the blonde's idiocy. "Because, Brat, he wasn't quite sure that he would made it out alive…"

Naruto in return turned bright red at missing that small detail. He scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Guess I forgot that even Itachi can be killed."

"Idiot…" the Akatsuki member mumbled. "Let's speed things up, we don't want Konoha to pick up our tracks."

Kisame almost doubled his speed, followed by Naruto who had some trouble following him.

"Don't tell me you can't keep up?" Kisame barked with laughter.

"Just shut up already…" The blonde grumbled with anger in return.

"They're not here Kakashi-sensei; they must've escaped the village." Sakura said; eyes cast to the ground in defeat.

Kakashi turned his eyes to the forest. Reports had come in that apparently the squads that were guarding the east gate were killed without having the chance to report in. "Expand your search to the woods, and gather the remaining members of Konoha 11 and tell them to scour out the nearby villages. One squad per village, tell them they will coordinate accordingly."

Oto's military force had been decimated, never standing a chance against Konoha's elite. If you were to look from a positive perspective than at least they had lessened Orochimaru's forces.

Kakashi grabbed his Hitai-ate and pulled it back over his Sharingan. He sighed and clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. _'Where are you Naruto…Give us a second chance, give me a chance to explain!'_

Yamato walked up to him and put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Let's go, we've not lost him yet."

Kakashi looked to his right and gave an acknowledging nod.

End flashback.

Kakashi sighed and closed his perverted book. He stood up and looked out the window; he glanced down the street and saw two Hunters conversing before hastening towards the gate. 'H_mm, that can't be good' _He opened the window and jumped outside, leave the window wide open, knowing that no one had the balls to break in his home, or any shinobi home for that matter.

He landed in the middle of street and headed to the main gate as well. He was soon joined by Asuma and Kurenai who had also noticed the Hunters sudden haste.

"I wonder what's going on." Asuma said aloud as he stroked his beard.

"We'll find out soon enough" Kurenai answered and pointed to the group of hunters who were standing and conversing at the main gate.

As they closed the distance Kakashi could make out Ghost's voice.

"Wha?"

"He got killed during the evacuation of Iwagaku. However, not all was in vain; we managed to get their next plan of attack." He threw Ghost a scroll who caught it and opened it.

Kakashi walked up and stood next to him, reading it over. His eyes widened in surprise and fear. "They plan to attack the Land of Waves?"

Ghost gave the scroll to Kakashi and turned around pushing himself past the small crowd that had gathered. "Itachi!"

Itachi appeared on a roof near him. "What is it, Ghost?"

"Get Kisame, We're heading towards the Land of Waves." Ghost said, his voice completely detached of emotion.

"Ghost! This not the time to plan revenge, we must strategize and coordinate with Konoha." Rome said. He too had arrived at the main gate at the same time the others from Iwa had.

"I couldn't care less about strategizing and coordination, Itachi, we leave in ten."

Itachi nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Ghost resumed his path down the main street, not noticing Jiraiya walking beside him until he looked up.

"Jiraiya-sama, what can I help you with?" Ghost asked with a small tinge of respect in his voice.

"Hey there, I heard you were planning a trip to the Land of Waves, I hope you don't mind if I tag along?" Jiraiya asked with a ridiculous grin.

"Not at all, meet us at the gate in ten."

Jiraiya gave a wave and headed back to the gate.

Kakashi noticed the Toad Sannin. "You're going as well?"

Jiraiya nodded. "And you?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I will brief Hokage-sama and ask for multiple squads to be stationed there, including me."

Jiraiya gave him the thumbs up, "Hurry up then, the sooner we leave the better our chances will be."

Kakashi answered by disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

xXx

Kakashi rapped with his knuckles on the door that led to Tsunade's office.

"Come in"

Kakashi entered with a serious look on his partial exposed face. "Hokage-sama, we have a serious problem. The Land of waves is about to be invaded." He then continued to explain how they got the information.

Tsunade's eyes widened in shock momentarily but managed to mask it quickly." They'll use it as a staging point to directly attack us"

Kakashi nodded and stared at her, waiting for orders.

"Our defenses at the border of the Land of Waves are nowhere near enough to repel an invasion force of any kind. Kakashi, take two platoons and head there immediately, set up a defensive position and hold the line until we have properly prepared! Also make sure that every noncombatant is evacuated. Take with you whoever you need, dismissed!"

Kakashi turned around and jumped out of the open window, ignoring Tsunade's curses about using the door he headed for the barracks, where the main shinobi force of Konoha resided.

He quickly jumped from roof to roof until he noticed that Sasuke was catching up to him.

"Kakashi! Where are you headed?" Sasuke asked as he matched Kakashi's speed.

"The barracks, the Land of wave is about to be invaded, I want you to head for Neji and tell him to assemble his squad for a mission that might take us a few week to a month We're going to make sure that the Land of waves doesn't fall" Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke nodded and headed towards Anbu headquarters.

Xx

Ghost put on his black boots and tightened the straps. He stood up from the chair and looked to the bed where his weapons were lying.

His katana which was a gift from Itachi, which he found quite amusing, he always thought the young man to be cold blooded. He still remembered the words that had convinced him to leave Tazuna,Inari and Tsunami behind.

'_You won't gain the strength you seek here. Break your bonds with this village; it will only slow you down. You must think like one of them, act like one of them, become one of them. Become the monster they all feared you to be…'_

Ghost put his beloved facemask back in place which he hadn't worn the last couple days on request of Mayu to earn the trust of Konoha.

He smiled behind his facemask as he remembered what he had said to Itachi. _'You know what you're asking of me? To give up my humanity!'_

Ghost shook his head at his childish remark he made. How foolish he had been. In the end he had thrown away everything that made him Naruto Uzumaki.

Ghost strapped the Katana to his back as well as strapping a tanto to both his legs. The blonde walked over to the mirror in the bathroom.

He looked at his reflection and placed his fingertips of his left hand on the mirror, with his right hand he grabbed his sunglasses and put them on. He could still remember the words he had said to Hawke.

'_Naruto Uzumaki is no more, Only Ghost remains.'_

* * *

><p>(No Jutsu list this time, I'm lazy)<p>

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to Review; because my inbox gets spammed with favorite alerts but not so much with reviews (still I love those who do send! I know who you are!)

Y U no review?

Also for those who think Sasuke and Sakura got off to easily, remember what I told you all at the A/N at the start of the chapter.

I also will explain more about Naruto's sudden ability for Katon jutsu later in the story.

Until the next time ;)


	12. Chapter 12 Nami No Kuni part 1

Summer's upon us! Aaaaaaand it's gone. Only rain here…yay…

My Mass effect story is on its way but it's going to take some time of course. Expect a little preview next chapter!

I got double the amount of reviews I had from chapter 10…YAY thanks a lot! Let's try that again shall we?

I also greatly appreciate all the followers and fav. Alerts etc I'm very grateful!

Anonymous Reviewers:

To Guest: I'm not Portuguese but….Fico feliz que tenham gostado! (I hope that sounds about right?)

To Trigun: As for the Naruto/Ghost X Hinata pairing, It's a difficult decision because I could have them as a pairing but I'd have to make some drastic changes in the plot. I'll think about it however!

Sasuke and Sakura in the end might get off easily because they got a good life going in Konoha that's very true. But they had a struggle to get there, and I'll let you know that when Ghost finally reveals himself (if he even is going to, hint hint ;p) there will be some chaos, to put it mildly ^^.

To Bankai777: I know you're not anonymous but I forgot to PM you; p. Anyways thanks for the review! When/if Ghost decides to reveal himself I'll hope it will be up to your standards and everyone else's of course.

If there was anyone else who reviewed but didn't get a pm from me or was put above, I'm very sorry and I'll make it up to you!

I said I was going to look for a beta reader but no one was complaining and I want to keep you all supplied with your weekly amount of epic-ness, and this story has the means to do so…yeah…

I will be referring the Land of waves as Nami No Kuni from now on; it fits better ;).

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

I Will Become A Ghost chapter 12

Itachi, Jiraiya, Ghost and Kisame jumped from branch to branch heading towards Nami No Kuni.

Kisame turned towards Ghost. "So, here we are, heading towards Nami No Kuni to halt an invading force that has the strength to utterly destroy the Land of Fire?"

Ghost nodded, "sounds about right."

Kisame shook his head and put his hands up in defeat. "With the four of us…You know I always like fights that are against all odds, but this is pushing it."

"Kakashi is bringing in more men, but it's going to arrive later because of the preparation you blue skinned ugly bastard." Jiraiya said as he butted in, not trusting either Kisame or Itachi one bit.

"What did you say old man? You want me to rip ya to shreds?" Kisame growled as he focused his attention to the Sage Sannin, already gripping Samehada.

Ghost and Itachi ignored their bickering that slowly became louder and louder.

"How much further?" Itachi asked Ghost.

Ghost pondered his thoughts for a moment before speaking, "Can't be long. If I remember right we should arrive at the bridge in two or three hours."

The shouting eventually stopped and Jiraiya jumped next to Ghost. "I feel hurt you know."

Annoyed, Ghost turned to the older man. "What?"

"Did you really think you could hide it from me?" asked Jiraiya with a mocking grin on his face.

Ghost quirked an unseen eyebrow; "Stop talking in riddles and tell me what you mean."

"You look exactly like Minato; you hate every single person within Konoha and your eyes turn into slits whenever you use your 'Gekkei kenkai'. Just admit it, Gaki"

Ghost's eye twitched, "What did you say?"

Jiraiya smirked, and opened his mouth slowly as if to emphasize. "Ga-ki"

Ghost growled and released some killing intent. "I dare you to say that again."

Kisame grinned and even Itachi was amused with Ghost and Jiraiya's interaction.

Jiraiya grinned. "I said; just admit already that you're the Ga-"

Ghost interrupted by slamming his shoulder into jiraiya's side, throwing him off the branch and into one of the many trees that they passed by on their high speed travel method.

The Sannin slipped down and landed on the ground seeing double.

Ghost turned around, still jumping from branch to branch, only now with his back the other way. "And yeah, I was Naruto once, only he's gone and he's never coming back" Ghost shouted, the wind causing his red sash to dance wildly.

Jiraiya regained his composure and nodded solemnly, he quickly caught up to him. "Thought as much, why didn't you tell me? I thought you trusted me, you told me so yourself at Nami No Kuni!"

"And risk Konoha eavesdropping? No thanks," The blonde snorted; he ducked underneath a low hanging branch. "I still trust you Jiraiya, you're one of the last people in Konoha I can actually stand. The rest can go to hell."

He looked at his old student and sighed. He had changed a lot, even more than he had first thought. His hatred for Konoha had run deep, so deep that Jiraiya started to doubt if the Gaki would ever be able to bury the hatchet. "You know that anger of yours isn't quite healthy for someone of your age."

Ghost coughed in disbelief. "And living my entire life alone, neglected and abused is? And stop talking to me like I'm the same 13 year old kid. That was seven years ago I'm 20 now."

Jiraiya cast his eyes down in sadness and shame. "I guess I can't blame ya. But remember, not everyone hated you, you had some good friends."

Ghost scoffed. "The same bastard friends who did nothing against my punishment; and what did I ever do to deserve such a thing? I did Konoha a favor by bringing back their precious Sasuke!" Ghost narrowed his eyes in anger and shook his head. "No, Konoha can burn to the ground."

"Then why are you here?" Jiraiya asked.

"The same reason Kisame and Itachi are here…Orders."

Jiraiya nodded, not believing it one bit. "Yeah, Naruto, while we're on that subject, mind explaining a bit what kind of group you're in?"

"It's Ghost, and the group is simply called The Hunters. They were an infamous movement who were active in Mirarca. They were created shortly after the major cities were fallen and all the countries were left in disarray, it was their job to hunt down every single Reaver they could grab their hands on." Ghost corrected and informed Jiraiya.

"I sense a but coming, k-" Jiraiya said with a grim expression catching his slip of the tongue after remembering Ghost's earlier words.

"You could say that, the sheer force of the Reavers made large assaults impossible. It became Guerilla warfare, and eventually it just became survival. Making sure that the innocent made it offshore and the shelters were warned in case of attack. In the end, it didn't even matter, almost everyone was annihilated, men women and children were all slaughtered, no mercy was ever given." Ghost said between gritted teeth, eyes narrowed in anger. "Eventually the groups were down to two people. Rome and Mayu."

"So they came to us, to prevent from repetition…" Jiraiya said as the pieces of the puzzle fell in place.

"The only problem is…" Ghost began.

Jiraiya looked at Ghost from the corner of his eyes.

"That this isn't the first time that a country has been warned beforehand, this is a cycle that has repeated itself over and over again…and now it's our turn.

Jiraiya just gaped at him, not being able to find the words to respond.

Xxx

Kakashi looked at the group that consisted of 120 shinobi, next to him stood Shikamaru. "Are you ready for this?" He asked the young man.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And here I thought you knew me by now…I'm a Nara, this mission is too troublesome."

Kakashi shook his head and turned his attention back to the large group who were either looking at Kakashi who was standing atop of a small building next to the gate or were chatting with their fellow shinobi. "You all know your orders, we head for Nami No Kuni to defend 'The Great Naruto Bridge' your squad leader has your assigned task. Prepare yourself, we move in 5 minutes."

Kakashi turned to Shikamaru ignoring the chuckles from the shinobi at the mention of The great Naruto Bridge. "Choji was coming along as well?"

"Yeah, you know we work well together, taking him with us will even the odds against some of their stronger Reavers."

"I doubt that this 'Choji' could go against a Holder, even if you are coordinating the attack." A voice intervened.

Kakashi looked down and saw one of the Hunters leaning against the wall of the building they were standing on, he had ruffled black hair. "Care to elaborate…" Kakashi scratched his head and chuckled. "I didn't quite catch your name."

The Hunter chuckled as well. "My name's Hawke. And what is there to explain. As far as we know there are at least two types of shinobi or whatever you want to call their ground troops. You have their regulars who are at Chunin/Jounin strength. And then you have the Holders. Holders have strength that varies from Anbu strength to Kage strength. So it all depends on who you face, if you're lucky you just fight their Regulars, but if you're not…well let's just say that you'd be lucky if you're still alive after going against one of their Holders."

Kakashi thought back to the fight between Ghost and Riadora. "The fight Ghost had a couple of weeks ago in our arena… was that a Holder?"

Hawke nodded. "He was, however, we learned that the Reaver was merely sent to gather intelligence, and only to become a Holder if the chance arose, not when he saw fit."

Kakashi looked at the man with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean 'become a Holder'?"

"Holders are people who have merged their body and soul with that of a demon. That was the reason why the Reaver attacked your village, however, the man was still inexperienced with the abrupt and tremendous changes made to his body and still had to adjust. This gave Ghost an edge in the battle" Hawke told the Copycat, with Shikamaru listening in.

Kakashi looked at him with wide eyes, this information was invaluable. "Why do we hear from this now and not the moment we made the alliance three days ago?"

Hawke shrugged. "We were still gathering Intel from our previous engagement in Iwa. But if I'm not mistaken, Mayu-sama is reporting this to the Hokage as we speak."

"Description of these Holders?" Shikamaru asked.

Hawke smirked. "Glowing blood red eyes, pupils often turned to slits and either their left or right hand turns into claw of the demon itself. That's all we know so far."

Kakashi glanced at Shikamaru who remembered as well that the descriptions given were exactly what happened to Ghost and Riadora. "Then that means that Ghost is a Holder."

Hawke merely shook his head. "Ghost is a unique case; Ghost has had the trait long before the Reavers came to the Elemental countries. On top of that, Ghost can trigger it; it's not permanent which is with the Holders."

Kakashi nodded in understanding as did Shikamaru.

"Keep this information about Ghost to yourself, very few people know and if the rest knew, they'd execute him on the spot without giving him the chance to justify it." Hawke said sternly and started to walk away.

Kakashi watched as Hawke turned around a corner and turned to Shikamaru. "We can't misplace this information; we'll have to keep this to ourselves for the time being."

"I agree, anyways, let's get this troublesome mission started." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Shika!"

Shikamaru turned around and saw Ino sprinting towards him, in full Jounin gear.

"Ino, what are you wearing?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief and minor annoyance.

"What does it look like, it's my Jounin gear."

"I can see that, but why are you wearing it? You almost never wear it because of your work at the intelligence division. If you think that you're coming along with us on this mission, you're wrong." Said Shikamaru as he we turning his attention back to the mass of shinobi that was massing at the main gate preparing to head out.

"I'm joining, whether you like it or not!" Ino said as she crossed her arms on her chest, showing how serious and stubborn she was.

"Ino…" Shikamaru began but was interrupted by Kakashi.

"Shikamaru, we could use her mind transfer abilities to interrogate any enemies we may capture."

Shikamaru glared at Kakashi, "I don't want her to come along because I know she won't simply comply with a task that will have her do nothing until we may or may not capture someone."

Kakashi shook his head. "Don't hide behind those lies; you don't want to risk losing the woman you love so you want to keep her out of this fight, Shikamaru Nara that is very selfish of you."

Shikamaru opened his mouth to retort but nothing escaped his mouth. He cast his gaze towards the ground. "I guess you're right, it's selfish of me to want her to stay and live." He sighed and looked at the blue bright sky.

"Shika-kun…" Ino started before she ran to him and enveloped him into a hug.

Kakashi merely smiled and turned away from the two love birds, giving them some privacy. He jumped off the roof and blended himself in the crowd of shinobi saying goodbye to their friends and families just in case they didn't return.

Kakashi knew that the civilians didn't understand, that suddenly a military power had risen that was beyond anyone's comprehension. _'Hell, I'm not sure if I understand, or believe it for that matter.'_

Kakashi, what's with the delay? Let's get going."

The Copycat addressed the voice of Sasuke with a turn of his body. "We're just taking Ino with us in case we capture someone."

"Hn, and I take it that making out with Shikamaru is part of that plan?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Something like that." He dismissed any further comment with a wave of his hand.

"Let's get going." Shikamaru said as he joined the two.

Kakashi saw Ino standing behind him and waved at her, Ino noticed and returned the gesture. He then walked forward and stood in front of the platoon sized group of shinobi. "All right, it's time to head out! Stick close to the rest of your squad and don't fall behind!"

With that Kakashi twirled around and sprinted out the gate followed by a large group of Anbu, Elite jounin and jounin combined.

xXx

Pein whom had arrived at Konoha shortly after the demise of Uesari sat in one of the many chairs inside the compound which was given by the Hokage. Akatsuki and the Hunters had gone to work immediately, setting up a command center which was directly linked with the Hokage tower and Anbu headquarters.

The report one of his spies within Iwa had sent gave him the impression that Ghost was wrong and that the invasion had started at Iwa s they initially had suspected.

But the report Ghost had sent didn't lie and that meant that the Reavers had started their attacks on two fronts, and both in full force.

"Something on your mind Leader-sama?" Konan asked as she entered the room.

"Konoha is sending shinobi to Nami No Kuni to stop the attack there. But I'm also concerned about the invasion we stalled. They're advancing through Iwa fast, at this rate they will have conquered Iwa within two to four weeks, depending on the remaining shinobi."

Pein looked up at Konan. "Send Deidera along with Kakuzu and Hidan to slow them down, also send Sasori back to our hideout to grab any relevant data we might have left behind. "

Konan nodded and left the room, leaving Pein to ponder his thoughts. At first he had been annoyed by Itachi and Kisame's sudden departure but accepted it because it was a good plan, even if Ghost had asked for their help purely for revenge on their fellow Hunter

He heard the opening and closing of a door and noticed Rome and Micheru walking towards the map that was hanging on the wall on the far end of the room.

"You think it'll be enough?" Micheru asked Rome as she looked at the miniature flag placed on the spot where Nami No Kuni was located.

"I doubt it; Ghost, Itachi and Kisame are the only ones with perhaps the Copycat that are capable of fighting those bastards, the rest that are being sent are going straight into the meat grinder."

Micheru looked at him with surprise plastered on her face. "What makes you think that? The battle at Iwa may not have been a success but the shinobi we managed to gather were capable of holding their own against the less powerful Reavers."

That is because," Pein said as he joined the conversation, still sitting on his chair, not bothering to get up. "Even though the number of shinobi we were given were few it was more than what Kakashi Hatake has with him. Don't discount the fact that apparently the invasion we faced was a mere diversion to make us believe that what we faced there was the real thing. Your fellow Hunter Uesari may have died, but his sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Micheru's eyes twitched at the mentioning of Uesari. She had taken his death not well and to hear Pein mention him without a tremor of emotion in his voice made her seethe.

Rome placed a hand on her shoulder, as if he knew that she was angered by Pein's input. "Exactly, we don't know what Ghost and the others are facing but whatever it is, it must be incredible powerful. If the size of the diversion is any proof of that."

"Then why aren't we going?" Micheru asked.

"That's because you Mayu and I will be presenting our group during the Kage Summit that is being held in a couple of days."

"I thought we already had the major villages on our side?" the blonde female Hunter asked.

"If you mean that they support us because they sent Shinobi to assist with the battle at Iwa then, no you're wrong. They sent those troops because of multiple reasons, one is of course the threat that we managed to convince them off, but there is more than that. This was also to show their military might and to evaluate the situation, knowing what to expect when an attack eventually comes to their country. They didn't merely do it because they trust us." Pein answered, not once taking his eyes of the pieces of paper lying in front of him.

"Are you coming to the summit as well, Pein-san?" Micheru asked Pein, not sure what title to give the man.

"No, my appearance wouldn't help us in the slightest; it would most likely cause an incident which would only fracture our relation with the other hidden villages."

Rome chuckled. "Not that it would make a lot of difference."

"What would you rather have, that they still brand us kill on sight?" Pein responded easily.

"You're still targeted kill on sight; only word has spread about our alliance with Konoha so they refrained from attacking you outright, at least until after the Summit." Rome said.

"Then, why did the major hidden villages agree to send men to help?" Micheru asked to no one in particular.

"All comes back to what I said earlier, they want to end this threat as much as us. However, they sent their men to evaluate the situation, if it was indeed true than they'd engage the Reavers, but, if the whole story was a fake then the hidden villages just placed their shinobi in in a strategical position." Pein explained.

"How so?" Micheru asked, surprised to see how talkative the leader of the Akatsuki was.

"I grow tired of explaining. What happens when you remove the Reaver threat but leave the shinobi, Akatsuki and the Hunters at the same place?"

"Well….."Micheru began. "You'd have the shinobi of the villages on one side and the Akatsuki and Hunters on the other side."

Pein nodded. "Exactly, the only threat the shinobi world would have are both our groups. They would have hundreds of shinobi and a small group of S rank criminals in close proximity of each other."

"I can understand they hate your people, but us?" Micheru said, turning her head to Rome with a questioning gaze.

Rome walked to the table Pein was sitting and took a seat as well. "Our hands aren't clean, Micheru. We have done a lot of bad things to ensure that the inevitable would never come," Rome rubbed his face and sighed. "A lot of things had to be done to ensure success, and now we're here, with only a couple of us who actually stands a chance against one of those Holders."

Micheru looked at Rome with worry in her eyes. "Can't give up hope yet, we just started."

Rome gave her a reassuring smile. "Who said anything about giving up?"

xXx

"Seriously, I can't believe that anyone with a sane mind would call this bridge the 'Great Naruto Bridge.'" Kisame muttered as they walked across said bridge.

Ghost's eye twitched and gave the blue man a head slap. "What would you rather have it called? The 'Great Sushi Bridge'? Have to admit, it does have a ring to it."

Kisame growled and tried to punch Ghost who ducked and decided to walk next to Itachi.

"I agree with Kisame, the name of the bridge is ridiculous." Itachi said as well, a small smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Screw you both." Ghost grumbled.

Jiraiya watched the casual conversations that had passed around the last hours with amusement; it was mostly Kisame and Naruto who started the conversations. And most of the times it started when either Kisame or Naruto did something to annoy the other, but never once did they dare to pull the same stunt on Itachi.

Jiraiya shook his head and smiled as he watched Naruto casually ducking underneath the weak punch Kisame had thrown. He had asked the blonde why they never tried that stuff on Itachi. It had caused a simultaneous shudder from the two and all they said was that Itachi always emerged victorious at the end.

They had arrived at the other end of the bridge and were met by civilians who were running around, desperately trying to get their families and belongings together.

"I guess they know what's coming." Ghost softly said which earned him a nod from Jiraiya.

As the small group approached the village, the villagers stopped and turned to the newcomer. There was a moment of silence before everyone started shouting and asking questions about the situation.

"Calm down people!" a voice rang out.

Ghost and the others watched as an older male with grey hair and a large beard walked forward.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? Did Konoha send you?"

Jiraiya noticed that Ghost remained rooted to the ground unable to speak so instead he spoke up. "Konoha sent us yes. We're here to make sure you all get evacuated before the attacker reaches the village."

A random female woman spoke up. "But you're only with the four of you, what can you do against a fleet that size?"

"We're merely delaying them, we have more men incoming, but because of the size it's going to take a while."

The man with the beard nodded in understanding. "Follow me" he turned around and beckoned with his hand to follow, the villagers quickly stepped aside to let them through.

They followed the man through the gate that led to the village; he turned his head and looked at them from the corner of his eyes. "My name is Tazuna; I am the builder of the Great Naruto Bridge. I'm also in charge of the evacuation, since our Mayor ran out on us the moment he saw those ships."

Itachi's eyes turned to Ghost who remained emotionless and very silent. "How far out are those ships Tazuna-san?"

"Tough to say, we thought they would've reached shore by now, but they are still hours away." Tazuna answered.

"Perhaps the weather? From what I've heard is that Nami no Kuni often has bad weather, whether it's rain or mist." Itachi responded.

"We noticed them this morning, and by the end of the morning mist began to settle, perhaps that's the reason?" Tazuna told them as he led the way across the small town square.

"That's probably it; the mist obscures our movement here, so they don't want to take any chances by walking into a trap." Jiraiya said as he joined the conversation, tearing his eyes away from the blonde Hunter.

Tazuna walked to one of the many houses and led them inside. Once the entered the living room they saw several people in armor standing, "These are the men that are leading the samurai here."

Ghost snapped out of his thoughts. _'I have to focus.'_

"My name's Jiraiya, and the men beside me are, Itachi, Kisame and Ghost," Jiraiya introduced and pointed to his respective companions. "We're here to help you fend of the attack until everyone is evacuated to Hi no Kuni."

One of the samurai with long dark brown hair tied in a ponytail. "My name's Nawi, me and my men were tasked with the protecting this village. After the Gato incident and the attack on the village not long after that. Konohagakure was unable to provide the village with the necessary shinobi, because of the invasion during the chunin exam."

"Don't really care for the history lesson, how many men you got here? Ghost snapped, earning a glance from Jiraiya.

Nawi narrowed his eyes and answered. "We have 130 men stationed here. Our plan was to set up the men on the walls that surround the entire village. As you have no doubt seen, it reaches to the bridge."

"Yeah; but those wooden walls are useless, hell! I can probably slam right through it with my sword in two or three blows." Kisame said, already seen the walls once they had crossed the bridge.

"Then what do you suggest Kisame-san, because those walls are the only thing that separates us from those bastards." one of the samurai responded.

Jiraiya stepped forward. "Let's reinforce it with chakra, if we do that than not only will it survive the blows, but also prevent enemies from running up the walls."

Tazuna looked puzzled. "Chakra reinforced? What's that?"

Kisame looked at the bridge builder. "I wonder why you're still here since you clearly have no military knowledge whatsoever, old man"

"Kisame…" Itachi softly intervened. "He has a right to know what's going to happen."

Tazune who looked a bit flustered grunted in agreement with Itachi.

"To answer your question, Chakra reinforced, or better named as Chakra layer is often used on walls and buildings to 'fortify' those positions. Shinobi place their hand on an object and send chakra towards it. The more chakra the person sends, the stronger the object becomes to attacks. But it requires a delicate chakra control." Itachi explained.

Ghost walked around the men and looked outside the window. "Nawi, how many men do you think you can spare, who have larger than normal chakra supply and have decent control over it?"

"Not much, ten at the most."

Jiraiya shook his head, "That's nowhere near enough we need at the very least twenty to twenty five to cover the entire wall."

"I got that covered; I'll provide those men with 30 clones to support them." Ghost answered before Nawi could respond.

"You sure you got enough chakra for that, brat? Even if it is only 30 clones, they need to have a large dosage of chakra. "Kisame asked.

Ghost nodded. "Don't worry, Sushi, 30 I can handle."

Ignoring Ghost's odd yet very fitting nickname for the big blue man, Nawi turned to his men. "You know what to do, dismissed," he turned back to the shinobi and grabbed his helmet from the table. "We already have set every trap we have in the forest that's between the village and the shore. But if you have any extra with you like; exploding tags, please set them up."

Ghost reached into his pouch and gave Itachi his small stack of exploding tags. "I'll stay here and help Nawi-san with spreading the samurai along the wall."

"We'll head into the forest. Don't reminisce for too long" Itachi added the last part with an almost amused look.

"When you set up the traps, please step on one. Kisame, I'll give you 800 ryō if you push him." Ghost remarked with a smirk and turned around, giving a wave.

Itachi smiled before noticing Kisame grinning like an idiot. "If you even try to pull that prank on me, I will Tsukuyomu you for three seconds."

Kisame abruptly stopped grinning and marched out the door, unsatisfied at Itachi's counter.

Jiraiya looked at the exchange with a sweat drop on the back of his head. "Do I even want to know what Tsukuyomi is?"

"No you don't Jiraiya-sama." And with that Itachi followed Ghost and Kisame's path.

xXx

A lone figure stood outside, looking at the opening of a cave which had held hideout of the Akatsuki not long ago. "it seems that the plans have been altered…but to what end? Have our goals been altered beyond recognition? "

Dum dum dum!

Alright first things first:

very special thanks to Tristram Shandy for pointing out a major error on my part by naming the land of wave to Tsuchi No Kuni. It's supposed to be Nami No Kuni!

If people don't like the pairing between Ino and Shikamaru then that's tough luck. Also Jiraiya may be one of the Sannin, he doesn't have a lot of knowledge about the Sharingan, only the Uchiha have that kind of knowledge and I tend to keep it that way, no crap about everyone knowing about all the Sharingan tricks.

So yeah, he has no idea about Tsukuyomi and stuff.

Anyways this chapter marks the beginning of the Nami No Kuni invasion which will last for two, perhaps three chapters.

I hope you enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to hearing about what you liked, or perhaps disliked about this chapter!

Until next time!


	13. Chapter 13 Nami No Kuni part 2

I Will Become a Ghost.

The battle for the Land Of Waves chapter 1

Sorry for the delay party people but I went on vacation to Spain and literally made a castle out of beer cans, I am not shitting you! Even made a gate of sorts :P

Anyways normally I answer all anonymous reviews but it's 5o'clock in the morning and I want some sleep XD.

Thank you for all the reviews and suggestions I'll keep it in mind.

**Alright, I don't know if anyone is going to at all but I'm going to try anyways.  
>I'm putting up a poll on my profile page with the question whether or not I should make Hinata as pairing for Naruto. It is certainly possible to do so and I must admit it would make the plot so much more epic when we finally reach that point.<strong>

**So yeah let me know what you think! (this is very important, if people don't vote, I won't know what choice to make and if that happens I'll make the decision myself.)**

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost chapter 13**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>~Chapter 13 - Nami No Kuni part 2~

Ghost walked across the empty town square when he heard someone yell.

"Inari, I said no!"

Inari marched around one of the many corners. "Mom, I don't care, I'm staying!"

Inari looked up and saw a hooded man with a black hood. He wore a black tunic with a brown leather belt. Underneath the belt was a red sash. His tunic split near his knees. Underneath his tunic he wore fitting black pants. "Who are you?"

Ghost's breathing hitched. Being around Tazuna was bad enough, but being around the kid, it brought back a lot of memories. "My name is Ghost, I'm sent here to help protect your village. And who are you?"

Inari gave him a wary look. "Inari is my name, while I doubt you didn't hear it before."

Ghost nodded and looked him over. He had grown a lot, though he still was a dwarf compared to him. He didn't wear a hat anymore and he had his hair blown back, in a ruffled manner. "And why were you running from your mom?"

"Because I don't want him to fight, he needs to come with me to Konoha!" Tsunami said as she too rounded the corner, glaring at Inari.

Ghost looked at the woman he considered to be family before turning his gaze at the armor Inari wore and noticed it was a standard samurai outfit. "Boy, do you have any experience at all?"

Inari looked offended. "Of course I do! I've been training with the samurai for a year now, and I'm a month away from graduation."

"And now you think you stand a chance against the Reavers?"

Inari looked puzzled for a moment before realizing that the incoming attackers were probably titled as Reavers. "I think so, we'll ha-"

He was cut off when Ghost suddenly appeared before him with the blunt side of the kunai pressed against his throat. "If I were a Reaver, you'd be dead. You don't belong in this fight, boy. Go with your mom." The Hunter turned around and left, leaving a stunned Inari and Tsunami behind.

Inari shook with rage and drew his sword. "I have more reasons to fight here then you! This isn't even your village! I'm not going to run away, ever!"

Ghost looked over his shoulder. "Are you sure this is what you want? The chance that you're going to die dwarfs your survival chances."

"No one attacks my home without feeling the consequences!" Inari shouted.

Ghost was torn between choosing to demand him to go with his mother and allowing him to stay, not caring whether he had any authority. _'If I were in his shoes I'd probably do the same _'

"Report to Nawi-san for your squad assignment"

Inari nodded his thanks and sprinted away.

Tsunami marched forward. "Please, you can't let him fight, He's just a kid."

"A kid who wants to fight for his home because he's afraid he'll never see it again if he doesn't. He's what? 14 years old? I've been a shinobi since I was 12 so age doesn't matter." Ghost retorted, completely siding with Inari.

Tsunami looked at him a moment before turning towards where her son went. "Please keep him safe."

Ghost gave an invisible smile. "I can't promise anything but I'll stick close to him. Now ma'am, I suggest you head for the bridge, Tazuna is no doubt waiting for you."

Tsunami raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And how do you know Tazuna?"

"Well…I met him."

Tsunami shook her head. "And how do you know that he and I are related, because you obviously do."

Ghost inwardly cursed himself for his slip up. "I only assumed- What is it Itachi?"

Tsunami narrowed her eyes. "You're not getting off that easy mister!"

Ghost waved and began sprinting towards the gate. "Gotta go! And you should too, they're almost here!"

Tsunami immediately turned around and ran back to the bridge, silently praying for her son.

xXx

Ghost stood on the wall with Inari next to him.

"Ghost, we've set the trap, Kisame is doing his thing and delaying the transport ships, he'll meet up with us in the forest, on the edge of the field." Jiraiya's voiced crackled through his headset.

Ghost reached for his headset around his neck. "Understood, I'm heading to you now; my clones are in place and are awaiting the order."

Ghost quickly turned to Nawi. "Alright, I'm heading in the forest, delaying as much of them as I can. Keep your men on the wall and keep an eye out for anyone who might slip past us."

Nawi saluted the man. "Good luck, Ghost."

Inari looked at the Hunter and nodded. "Don't die on us."

Ghost chuckled. "I'm not planning to." He jumped over the cover of the wall and sprinted in the forest.

He found the others after a couple of minutes running. He could hear explosions in front of him, presumably where Kisame was wreaking havoc.

Jiraiya was crouched behind a tree with Itachi doing the same.

"Ghost, create clones and spread them around as much as you can. I've already done the same, as did Itachi."

Ghost formed a hand sign and created a group of clones who quickly hid behind trees and bushes.

The explosions ceased and the three shinobi readied themselves.

Minutes later Kisame came running through the field of traps, careful not to trigger any. "I took out five of their transport ships, but there are a lot of them."

"How much?" Ghost asked.

"I'd say at the least, 30 to 50." Kisame answered glancing over his shoulder every so often.

"From our previous battle we know that there are at least 20 per boat," Itachi added, "they have sent hundreds for Nami no Kuni and this is only the first wave, I am sure there will be more."

Jiraiya heard footsteps and a lot of them, marching through the forest, accompanied by the voices of a mass of men and women. "They're here!"

The four man squad grabbed their weapons and prepared themselves. Seconds later the army of Reavers, dressed in various outfits marched right into their trap.

Itachi looked at Jiraiya who nodded; he raised his hand and formed the snake sign.

"Do it" Jiraiya whispered.

Itachi focused and activated the traps.

First one exploded but was shortly followed by many more, blocking out any screams from the Reavers caught in the trap.

dozens were caught in the explosion and were either killed or heavily wounded.

Ghost ran from his spot behind the tree, his katana drawn, with the others beside him. "Kill them all, leave no survivors."

Kisame grinned. "I'm going to enjoy this" he said as he tightened his hold on Samehada.

With the smoke still enveloping their enemy they had the element of surprise. Ghost who had only limited experience with chakra detection could barely make out the enemy because of the mass of chakra signatures. He focused his attention on the closest one and sprinted towards the person and stabbed in what he presumed to be the man or woman's stomach.

He focused on the next chakra signature and planted his fist in the man's face, feeling his nose break. The Hunter followed up with his katana, stabbing the person in the face.

"Get out of the smoke; I'm preparing a fuuton jutsu." Ghost told his squadmates through he headset as he jumped out of the smoke.

Jiraiya jumped out first, followed by Kisame and Itachi

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" Ghost shouted after forming the necessary handsigns.

The jutsu blew not only the remaining smoke away but also any enemies that were caught by surprise.

"Nice job N-Ghost." Jiraiya said, correcting his slip-up.

Ghost reached for his katana which he had thrown on the ground before. "Our clones are up next."

Itachi nodded and signaled the clones.

The clones burst from their cover and ran straight towards the new group of Reavers.

Kisame grinned like a madman and followed in the clones footsteps, with Ghost, Itachi and Jiraiya closely behind.

Ghost looked from left to right, their clones were stretched in a long line, trying to halt as much of their enemies movement as possible. "Throw your Shuriken!"

As ordered, all the clones threw their shuriken.

"Look at that!" Jiraiya shouted.

"Not finished yet, Itachi, fase two!

"I'm ready"

They both simultaneously formed the necessary handsigns. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" pouring enough chakra in the ninjutsu they managed to multiple the kunai thrown by their clones as well even if it was to a lesser extent.

The shuriken multiplied in the hundreds and closed in on their targets fast.

The Reavers who saw the attack coming were prepared and were either countering with their own throwing knifes or were preparing Fuuton jutsus.

However, their preparations weren't quite enough and a lot of the shuriken still hit a lot of their targets, bodies falling to the ground, screams of pain and anger filled the forest.

Ghost motioned with his hand for Kisame to move. "Alright, time for close combat, let's move!"

The four shinobi joined the fast diminishing group of clones who after throwing their shuriken were moving in for close combat.

Stepping on a small rock Ghost jumped over one of the incoming Katon jutsu that were coming their way, he glanced to his right and saw Itachi countering the fire jutsu with one of his own, only more massive in scale.

From the corner of his eyes he saw three Reavers sprinting towards him, weapons drawn.

Holding his katana in front of him in a defensive stance, he motioned with his other hand to aggravate them, hoping that they would be make a mistake.

The first Reaver who reached him slammed his own sword into that of Ghost's, he let himself fall to his knees but still applying pressure on Ghost's blade.

It was then that the second Reaver used his companion's back as support to jump over him and landed straight within Ghost's defense.

"Kuso!" Ghost cursed and had to release his hold on his katana to quickly jump out of their reach.

"Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu!"

Ghost jerked his head to the left and noticed his third opponent. Ducking out of the way he barely managed to dodge the attack.

"Got you!" one of the Reavers shouted as he made a stabbing motion, intend on piercing Ghost's right eye.

Ghost rolled out of the way, grabbing a kunai from his pouch while doing so. He used a handstand to flip himself onto his feet and blocked the incoming Reaver's sword.

Seeing an opening he grabbed the man by his throat and tore it apart with his claw.

"You'll pay for that you bastard!" the female Reaver of the three man squad screamed and attacked him head on.

"Don't!" her remaining squad mate shouted.

She ignored him and drew her own blade.

Ghost smirked and laced his kunai with his Futon element. He closed the distance between the two and slammed his kunai into her sword, cutting through it like butter. Seeing her shock written all over her face he used it to his advantage and rammed his kunai exactly where her heart was.

Her look became that of pure terror before her eyes became unfocused and closed them.

Ghost gave the woman who was as good as dead a shove and she fell to the ground.

With only one Reaver remaining he turned towards him whom in return had followed the death of his teammate with cold calculated eyes.

However, before the former Konoha shinobi could attack, a new group of attackers came to rushing in.

"Crap…" he muttered as he quickly picked up his katana from the ground

With Jiraiya

Jiraiya kneed his opponent in the stomach and finished him with a kick in the man's face.

Noticing three more enemies closing in, he weaved through a few hand seals. "Katon: Endan!"

A flame bullet roughly the size of a human flew towards the three Reavers.

"Too easy old man!" shouted one of them and dodged it without too much trouble.

This is too easy!" Jiraiya barked with laughter.

Two small rocks disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing two Jiraiya clones. They silently made their way to two of Jiraiya's assailants. Once within arm's reach they grabbed them by the head and snapped it effortlessly.

The remaining Reaver noticed his companions weren't behind him anymore, he stopped and turned around.

"Now, it's three against one in my favor." Jiraiya said.

The Reaver scoffed. "Do you really think I can't beat you without them? They were mere pawns, they are easily replaced. I am a Holder; **I can kill you without any problems.**"

Jiraiya heard the change in his voice. '_I thought that they merge with their demons and that they become one. Then how come he changes now?'_

Jiraiya looked at his lower arm and saw it had turned into a claw of sorts, resembling Naruto's.

The Sage then started grinning like an idiot. "Well then, it's unfortunate for you that I am the gallant Sage of Mount Myoboku! I'm the great toad hermit, loved by the women and feared by my enemies! The name's Jiraiya!"

The Reaver looked at him like he was an idiot; he rubbed his forehead and unsheathed his sword. "**Well then 'Gallant Jiraiya,' let's see who's the better fighter."**

Jiraiya stiffened for a moment but quickly rolled out of the way, barely dodging the incoming blade.

Jiraiya retaliated with a ninjutsu. "Ranjishigami no Jutsu!" His hair extended in the form of a lion's mouth and quickly made its way to his opponent.

Initially surprised by the unorthodox attack, the Reaver overcame his surprise quickly and dodged out of the way and used flashstep to give the Sanin a blow to the face.

Although familiar with the Flashstep concept, Jiraiya didn't have time to block the blow and took it head on.

Jiraiya flew a couple of meters through the air before smashing against a large tree.

Shaking his head he stood up and looked around, looking for his opponent and ignoring the large battle around him.

Jiraiya twirled around and started sprinting, trying to lure his attacker out, occasionally jumping out of the way of a random Reaver trying to use the Sannin's distraction against him, only to be killed seconds later by one of the many clones.

Sensing killing intent targeted at him, he dove to the ground barely in time to dodge the large cleaver that was hurled his way.

"**Not a second time 'gallant Jiraiya!'"** The Holder roared as he jumped from one of the trees with his sword high above his head, the tip of his sword aimed downwards.

Jiraya remained on the ground, his exposed back to his incoming attacker.

Waiting until the last possible second he stayed that way.

The Reaver smirked in arrogance knowing he had this in the bag. He swung his sword down, trying to pierce Jiraiya's back.

Jiraiya abruptly turned around, revealing his Rasengan in his hand, he slammed his blue orb into his attacker's stomach, causing him to fly back the same way as he came charging in.

"Strikee!" Jiraiya shouted and pulled himself of the ground before jumping into the fray of fighters.

With Kisame

Kisame jumped over his opponent and turned around; aiming his massive partial revealed sword and shredded his enemy to pieces.

He looked to the mass of bodies and shook his head before grabbing a random Reaver who tried to pass him by the throat and slammed him in the ground.

Kisame turned around noticed a large group of enemies massing, trying to get through the thin line of clones. He tightened his grip on Samehada and started sprinting which followed up with a chakra enhanced jump.

Closing in on the group fast he aimed the end of Samehada on said group indicating his beloved sword what the plan was.

Feeling his sword shudder with excitement he grinned as well. Within reach, he slammed his sword in the ground causing a chakra shockwave to be released by his massive sword.

This caused the group of Reavers to be launched from the ground, leaving them wide open for Kisame.

The Akatsuki agent started twirling around with Samehada in his hand, shredding everyone to pieces within his range.

"This is too easy," Kisame said to no one as he stretched the muscles in his arms and neck. "Who's next?"

"**That would be me."**

Kisame casually turned around with his chakra addicted resting on his shoulder. "It's not my thing to converse with dead people so let's get this going."

Not waiting for a response, Kisame charged, his fist cocked back. But before he could land a blow the Demon holder disappeared in a flash and appeared behind Kisame and jackhammered him into the ground.

Kisame kicked back, giving him a momentary opening to go to a safe distance which he took immediately.

Kisame grunted as he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Not bad but your forgetting something."

The Reaver scoffed. **"And what's that?" **

Kisame smirked. "My sword"

Samehada took that as his cue to attack and fully unwrapped in an instance by destroying the bandages. He then bit the Reaver in his leg, not only wounding him but also draining him of his chakra.

The man groaned in pain. **"What is this?!"**

Kisame appeared before him and rammed his hand through the Reavers chest, straight where his heart was. "You never should've come here; did you really think we would bow just like the other countries did? This is the Shinobi world, our world not you or anyone else will take that from us!"

"**Such…C-confidence" **The man managed to stutter as black spots starting to fill his vision.

Kisame barked with laughter. "The Shinobi world can only be destroyed by other Shinobi and you Reaver garbage aren't one of us" With that Kisame threw him on the ground and locked onto his next target before grabbing his beloved sword.

With Inari

Inari swallowed nervously as he listened to the numerous explosions that occurred in the forest. "This is crazy…"

Nawi nodded as he watched the bright lights of the jutsu's that were being used. "I've lived through one shinobi world war, but I've never would've imagined that some foreign force would invade us and to try and slaughter us all."

One of his men nodded in agreement. "Do you t-"his voice was cut off by an extremely loud explosion followed by a few lesser ones. "Do you think we stand a chance?" he repeated.

"Of course we do!" Inari answered without hesitation.

Nawi kept silent.

Inari ignored it and turned to the darkening sky. "this is going to be a problem if they continue to attack throughout the night."

"You can bet your ass that they will do just that." One of the Samurai said.

"All we have to do is to keep them occupied for as long as possible, Konoha reinforcements aren't far out." Nawi told Inari and the rest of the men that were listening.

Nawi glanced at Inari and noticed the nervous look on his face. "You okay, kid?" He softly asked.

Inari swallowed and nodded. "Just a bit nervous"

One of the Samurai slapped him on the shoulders. "Believe me; you'll no longer feel that way once you're in the middle of it."

"Shut up…." Inari grumbled.

Another explosion shook the ground and after that it became deadly quiet.

The murmuring of the men on the walls fell silent and they anxiously waited with their weapons at the ready for any sign of ally or enemy.

The first one that burst through the tree line was Itachi clutching his arm, closely followed by Kisame. Moments later Ghost and Jiraiya came running through the tree line throwing kunai with exploding tags everywhere.

Someone shouted to open the gate and seconds later the four man squad entered the village.

Nawi jumped down to greet them as well as a squad of medics. "How did it go?"

Jiraiya was the one who spoke up. "Well, they're still there but their numbers are severely reduced by the traps and our clones, and not to forget Kisame with his water jutsu's.

Nawi nodded. "Let's get to the walls; they'll be here any second."

Ghost, Jiraiya and Kisame followed Nawi.

"I'll join you in a moment." Itachi said as he took off his Akatsuki cloak for the medics to take care of his wounds that were inflicted on him moments earlier.

Ghost gave a wave as acknowledgment.

xXx

Inari noticed the newcomers and gave them some space. "So how tough are they?"

Kisame quirked an eyebrow, "Tough enough, midget, and why the hell are you here, shouldn't you be somewhere with those annoying civilians?"

"Don't call me a midget you-You blue skinned fish!"

Ghost smothered his laugh with a cough.

Kisame's eyes twitched and took a threatening step forward. "What. Did. You. Say."

Inari's eyes fearfully darted to Ghost who remained impassive. "Y-You heard me! Why shouldn't I be allowed to fight? I'm two years older than most Genin"

Kisame merely hmpfed and focused on the forest ahead.

Suddenly the forest was filled once again with explosions. Ghost grabbed his hood and jerked it back; revealing his blonde hair and blue eyes, the rest of his face was covered with a facemask.

Inari looked at him with wide eyes, the man looked so familiar.

Ghost noticed Inari looking at him and smiled, he gave Inari a wink before extending his fist.

Inari kept staring. _'Is it really him?' _

He then noticed Ghost's fist; Inari reached out with his own trembling fist and did the only thing that came to his mind…he bumped fists with the man.

Satisfied, Ghost nodded and focused his attention back on the forest.

"N-Naruto?" Inari whispered.

Ghost gave him another wink. "Not now, gaki."

Inari opened and closed his mouth, oddly resembling a guppyfish. He had so many things he wanted to say; to suffocate him with a hug, but it seemed that now just wasn't the time for such things. He merely nodded.

Ghost leaned forward with squinted eyes; he had taken off his glasses the moment night fell. "They're here..."

"It would be wise if we separated across the wall, it's clear we are the most capable fighters here." Itachi said as walked up the stairs that was attached to the wall.

"Agreed, I'll stick here; make sure that the gate doesn't fall." Ghost offered.

The three others nodded and split up.

They waited for a couple of minutes which felt like hours, it was quiet and the defenders didn't like it one bit.

"It's time, clones you know what to do!" Ghost shouted over his shoulder, startling a few men.

"What are you talking about?" Inari asked.

"They've been silent for too lo…"Ghost trailed off as he looked in the sky. "That isn't good."

Inari looked at him with a questioning gaze before following Ghost's eyes. His eyes widened in fear. "Oh my god!"

The sky was filled with huge flame balls that quickly made their descent towards the village.

"They must have used catapults to launch those flaming objects into the air!" Nawi shouted.

"Take cover!" Ghost shouted as he grabbed Inari by the back of his neck and pushed him to the ground.

As Ghost took a crouching position, the flaming objects crashed in the village, destroying whole buildings at once.

Some of those objects which revealed to be flaming rocks also hit the wall which remained intact due to the clones, but the samurai on top weren't that lucky and were killed instantly.

Other rocks merely slammed into the ground doing no substantial damage.

Inari looked up and to the many burning buildings inside the village. "The village is burning!" he screamed and scrambled to get up

"It can be rebuild, gaki, be lucky that no one was in one of those buildings." Ghost told him as he stood up as well.

"What is that?" one of the Samurai pointed to the sky before a frightening deafening roar ripped through the air.

Ghost and Nawi looked to the dark sky once more. "Kuso!" Ghost cursed before back flipping off the wall and landing on the market ground behind him. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Ghost shouted, biting his thumb and forming the necessary hand seals beforehand.

The large cloud of smoke that had appeared dissipated quickly, revealing three large Hawks. "What can we do for you Ghost-Sama?"

"Nodin, you remember me telling about the Unknowns that were going to attack us? They are here and they have launched an air assault. I could use your assistance." Ghost told with a small bow.

Nodin turned his gaze to the sky looking towards the dark beasts which were barely noticable. "We'll fight for you, but those beasts, I don't know what they are."

"I don't know either; I've never seen anything like it." Ghost answered truthfully.

Nodin spread his wings. "We'll try to keep them of your backs, as long as you make sure that no one else interferes." And with that he took to the sky.

Ghost nodded and jumped back on the wall, joining Inari and Nawi.

Another terrifying roar cut through the air, instilling fear in the samurai whose eyes darted from the left to the right.

Ghost turned to Nawi. "You have to keep the men focused. Reavers enjoy the sight of fear and always use it. "

Nawi nodded and spoke up. "My fellow samurai! I can see the fear in your eyes! I would be lying if I wasn't terrified myself, but this is not the time to show it to our enemies!" Nawi glanced at Inari before looking back at his men who were all lined up on the wall and on the ground behind it.

"These monsters will take everything you hold dear if we don't hold the line, they will kill every man woman and child of Nami No Kuni if we don't hold them here! "

He looked at his fellow samurai whom's resolve strengthened and fear disappeared. "Will you hold the line?" He shouted.

Shouts from all of his men erupted that broke the chains of fear, even the growls and roars hardly had any effect.

Nawi nodded approvingly.

The radio crackled before Jiraiya's voice came through the static "Hate to break it, but we have movement in the forest."

Ghost narrowed his eyes before a look of disbelief crossed his face. "That's a lot."

Several hundreds of man came breaking through the forest line and started charging the wooden wall.

"Brace yourselves!" Nawi shouted and unsheathed his katana, quickly lacing it with chakra.

Ghost, Inari and the rest of the Samurai unsheathed their weapons as well before falling into a fighting stance.

The Reavers not slowing down a bit used chakra to jump on the wall, right into the waiting swords of the defenders of Nami no kuni.

* * *

><p>And that's chapter 13! Again I apologize for the delay!<p>

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, Jiraiya is so much fun to write :P

Hopefully you'll leave a review behind so I know what you think of the story :D

Until next time!


	14. Chapter 14: Nami No Kuni part 3

Heyas! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter; I want to thank everyone for reading, reviewing etc. ^^

Anonymous reviewers:

Guest: Do you mean when I'll explain more about how Naruto become's Ghost or when I plan on revealing his identity (or are you perhaps asking when the next chapter is coming out?) you have me a bit confused with your question, you could always pm me in private if you want I answer any questions that aren't spoiler related.

Guest2: Thanks! Well here ya go, I hope it's as interesting as the last chapter!

Bearybeary: I'm not planning on stopping this story ;D Especially since I already have written out the ending of the story. (I do that so I don't lose focus on the ending and also to add any sudden ideas I might get)

West: one of the best? I don't know…But I'm glad you like it! As for the pairings, I have something up my sleeve but it depends on the outcome of the poll, which will at least stay there for the coming month.

Guest3 (8/10/12): Oh that will happen not too long from now *evil laughter* I am looking forward to releasing that. (already written that part out as :P, just fine tuning it)

Erching: I was planning on Pm'ing you but lately I keep forgetting about that to reviewers overall so… anyways here is as you requested!

_'Thoughts'_

**"Demonic voice"**

Enjoy!

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 14**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 14 – Nami No Kuni part 3 ~<p>

Previously on I Will Become a Ghost.

_Ghost narrowed his eyes before a look of disbelief crossed his face. "This is not good."_

_Several hundred men came breaking through the forest line and started charging the wooden wall._

"_Brace yourselves!" Nawi shouted and unsheathed his katana, quickly lacing it with chakra._

_Ghost, Inari and the rest of the Samurai unsheathed their weapons as well before falling into a fighting stance._

_The Reavers not slowing down a bit used chakra to jump on the wall, right into the waiting swords of the defenders of Nami no kuni._

Ghost held his katana tightly in both hands. He figured that they would use chakra to jump over or on the wall, but to jump straight in to the awaiting blades of the samurai wasn't what he expected them to do.

Ghost's first opponent jumped in front of him, inches away from the wooden spikes that stuck above the wall, giving them some sort of cover.

The blonde hunter stabbed him through one of his lungs before throwing him over the spikes and into the mass of enemies below who were trying to break through.

Looking around, he noticed that all the samurai who were on the wall were in a struggle trying to defeat their foe. Ghost knew that they had the upper hand for now; they had more men on the wall and only few Reavers could land without getting killed straight away.

But that would not last long, so they had to make it count.

Clashing blades with another Reaver he glanced towards Inari from time to time, he wouldn't let the kid die, not while he was around.

Inari for his part did well, considering it was a Reaver he was fighting against.

Making a large gash on his opponent's chest he quickly focused on the other who had taken his place. Ghost ducked underneath the slash and planted his own blade inside his chest.

The blonde noticed Inari had just defeated his opponent but was now overwhelmed by the second one; he quickly reached for a handful of shuriken and threw it at the women's exposed back.

Inari nodded his thanks as the women slumped to the ground.

Ghost merely turned and engaged the next of what seemed an endless wave of enemies.

Inari followed his example and helped out one of his fellow samurai against a particular strong Reaver. He swung his sword at the back of the reaver, making a deep and large cut.

The Reaver in return screamed and kicked Inari in the stomach. He focused his attention back to his former opponent.

The samurai in return used that moment to lace his blade with chakra. He slammed his blade against that of the Reaver who held it horizontally, cutting clean through not only his opponent's blade but also his shoulder

Inari stood up after the kick and noticed that his fellow samurai had already defeated his opponent and that he was already fighting the next one.

Inari followed his example and tried to help out his fellow samurai where he could.

Itachi weaved through the enemies, killing them without too much trouble. The enemy may have come in vast numbers, skilled they were not. If they were to be compared with shinobi, they would've been chunin level at the most.

Itachi disarmed a Reaver that had landed gracefully on the wall, with his Sharingan activated Itachi easily evaded the thrown punch and retaliated by stabbing him in the chest twice.

Itachi made a couple of hand signs and then aimed to the ground below the wall, where the enemies were massing together, trying to get through to the wall. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The fireball quickly made its way to army below and slammed into them, burning many and causing mass disarray.

Itachi gave a small grunt when someone used his moment of inattentiveness to their advantage and stabbed the Uchiha with a knife in his back.

Itachi elbowed the women in the face, breaking her nose he then twirled around and with his flat hand he slammed it against her nose again.

He followed up by grabbing her by the head and kneed her in the face. He dropped her to the ground and slammed the heel of his foot in back of her head, breaking her skull.

Noticing one of the Reavers trying to finish off one of the samurai, Itachi merely tackled him to the ground and reached inside his robe for a kunai to finish him off.

It was at that moment that someone came flying in with two outstretched legs and kicked Itachi off the wall and into one of the stalls on the market below.

Itachi slowly got to his knees and looked with narrowed eyes, towards the newcomer.

The newcomer grabbed the Reaver Itachi tried to kill and pulled him back to his feet. **"You piece of garbage, look at your surroundings before attacking!" **He pushed the man away.

Itachi jumped on one of the buildings that separated the market from the wooden wall. "I was wondering when someone with real fighting abilities would join us on the wall."

The Reaver spat on the ground, **"Don't try and be courageous, I can smell your fear!"**

Itachi gave a chuckle, and a very odd one at that. "You smell my fear? You're not even worth my time. You're a hypocrite."

The Holder's left eye twitched. **"Not worth your time? A hypocrite? I'll cut you open and rip your organs out!"**

"I very much doubt that." Itachi held up his left arm and motioned with his hand.

Three samurai came from behind and pierced the holder with their chakra enhanced blades, killing him instantly.

Itachi nodded towards the men and jumped back on the wall.

xXx

Couple of hours later. Nightfall.

Kakashi and the group of shinobi the size of two platoons were closing in on Nami no Kuni fast. akashi couldn't help but wonder what they would find. The fight against the Reaver all those weeks ago in the arena didn't help him prepare one bit.

Sasuke beside him jumped from tree to tree fully focused on the path ahead.

Sasuke Uchiha. From the most loved genin to one of the most hated in a span of little less than a year. His attempted betrayal had caused a lot of commotion from the shinobi that resided within Konoha.

Reinstating Sasuke had caused quite the uproar, one he would never forget. It seemed that a lot weren't really happy with the Hokage's decision and forgivingness. But what was most surprising was the impact Naruto had made when he abandoned them. The kid that had defeated Gaara of the sand and in doing so had probably saved the village.

So when word got out that Naruto had left the village they all started wondering what the hell was wrong with the genin nowadays. They never found out about the Chakra seal they tried to put upon Naruto.

"Maa, Sasuke what's up with the serious look on your face?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke focused his gaze on Kakashi. "I'm thinking about the fight in the arena, those two Reavers there were strong, they cut our jounin who tried to attack down without any trouble. Sending two platoons to assist in a country that is already lost seems hopeless to me."

Kakashi held up a finger. "You're missing the point. Our group isn't here to repel any invasion force. It's merely to delay them while we set up defenses at the border."

Sasuke merely grunted in response.

Kakashi noticed movement, as did his fellow comrades. They jumped down and noticed that they were civilians.

The grey haired Anbu stepped forward when he noticed that the daughter of Tazuna was walking up front. "Tsunami, did everyone manage to evacuate from Nami no Kuni?"

Tsunami raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Who are you?"

Kakashi mentally slapped himself in the face. He grabbed his Anbu mask he was wearing and attached it to his belt. "Remember now?"

"Kakashi-san," She said with a neutral tone. "We all managed to escape, thanks to your four man group."

Kakashi knew the woman would never forgive him. Neither would she ever forgive Sakura and Sasuke for what they had done. "I know you're mad at me, but this isn't the time, we're heading to Nami no Kuni, can you give me any information on what's happening?"

"There are 120 Samurai stationed in our village to provide us with the security we lacked. Nothing much else other than that your group is reinforcing the wall with that chakra trick of yours." Tazuna spoke up as he pushed himself through the mass of civilians.

"That will stall at the most, but a good strategy." Shikamaru joined in.

Kakashi nodded. "Well at least we won't be alone in this fight," Kakashi turned his attention back to Tazuna. "Tazuna, when did you leave the village?"

"About four hours ago, we left when they were almost reaching the shore."

Kakashi thought for a second. "That means that we're still a good hour and a half out. Tazuna, keep heading for the Konoha they will provide you with shelter."

"Thanks for the offer. Good luck Kakashi."

Kakashi signaled and the shinobi force jumped back into the trees and resumed their track.

xXx

Night slowly descended but the enemy showed no sign of backing down or taking a rest.

Ghost cut off one of his enemies arms and kicked him off the wall and into the street below. He breathed heavily, he was running low on chakra and his clones were slowly starting to disappear because they were out of chakra.

He tackled another enemy trying to pass hem and quickly finished him off with a blade in his chest. He looked around and noticed that slowly more and more Reavers were coming on the wall.

He then glanced to Inari who was breathing heavily as well, even more so than him. The kid had some skill he'd give him that but he still had a lot to learn and if he hadn't intervened from time to time he'd most probably be dead.

Suddenly the wall shook and he almost fell to his knee. "What the F-" another tremor shook the fighters, causing some to fall.

It was then that a samurai yelled. "They're trying to destroy the gate!"

Ghost looked over the wall and to the edge of the forest. He saw a large earth dragon spitting out large rocks towards the gate. _'That looks a lot like the Doryūdan but that technique uses mud and not rocks._

Ghost shut his eyes as another of his clones dissipated and sent his memories to the real Ghost. He reopened them and reached for his headset. "Itachi, I'm running out of clones. We're also about to lose the gate, they're assaulting it with jutsu that looks like Doryūdan."

He got no answer.

Ghost was about to try again when a huge explosion took place, he jerked his head to the direction the explosion was and knew right away that Itachi was right there.

"We got incoming!" Someone shouted and pointed to the sky.

Ghost looked up and saw a metallic spiky ball closing in fast. "Get off the wall!" he roared and quickly grabbed Inari throwing him in the alley behind the wall.

Inari quickly scrambled to his feet and ran towards the market.

Ghost looked to the spiky ball again. _'Not going to make it!'_ He tried anyway and jumped.

A mere second later the metallic object impacted against the wall and went off, causing an enormous explosion similar to the explosion earlier.

Caught in the blast, Ghost was thrown through the already ruined roof of a small home behind the wall.

Nawi who had jumped off earlier saw Ghost crashing through the building and feared the worst. He looked to where the spiky ball had blown up and noticed that a large part of the wall was gone. "Form a line and defend the wall! Don't let anything get through!"

A group of samurai who were standing behind him quickly sprinted to the gap, swords tightly held in their hands.

Nawi knew they were running low on men. They had started off with 120 men, 80 of which were stationed on the wall and 40 men on standby.

They were now down to 68.

Nawi looked to his right and saw that the older man, named Jiraiya came sprinting to him. "What's the situation on the wall, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya came to a halt in front of Nawi. "It's going alright for the moment, I thought we lost Itachi with the first explosion but he reported in just a moment ago. "

Nawi nodded. "Good, things would have turned bad indeed if we lost him."

Jiraiya gave a dry chuckle. "Even with Itachi, things aren't looking too bright."

"What is taking your friends so long?" Inari asked with a bitter tone as he joined in the conversation, starting to feel the after effects of long chakra usage.

"It won't be long, we just have to hold on," Jiraiya told the boy just as the sound of another explosion filled the air. "Let's focus on the fight. We should pull all our men away from the wall and fight here in the streets. They wouldn't dare to use those explosives when their own men are among them."

"I very much doubt they would stay their hand because they got some of their own men in the area. But, we haven't got a lot of options left so we'll go with your plans." Nawi started giving orders to his men through his headset.

"Kisame, pull back from the wall and regroup on th-" He was interrupted when the sound of wood splintering shot through the air. "Regroup on the streets; we'll continue fighting in the village! And hurry it up because the gate has fallen!"

Samurai everywhere ran for the market and regrouped there, jumping of the wall or pulling back from the gate.

Itachi showed up as well, looking a little worse for wear. His Akatsuki robe was had scorch marks and tears in it. His face was covered in dirt and blood.

Kisame showed up as well, having a few shallow cuts in his robe. "For Shinobi wannabe, you samurai aren't half bad."

A few Samurai glared at that moment and some of the others cursed him.

"Kisame…Now isn't the times to make enemies, we already have quite enough." Itachi softly said, slightly panting.

Kisame glanced around. "Where's the brat?"

"Me?" Inari asked, feeling like a kid when he was surrounded by adults everywhere.

"Not you, baka. Where the hell is Ghost?" Kisame snapped.

Jiraiya looked around as well. "Where is the idiot gone to now?"

Nawi remembered Ghost crashing through a building. "He got caught in the explosion; I don't think anyone would've survived that."

Inari started to get worried, finding out that that man was most likely Naruto was a shock of its own, but he wasn't about to let him go again. "We have to go look for him!"

"Too late" Itachi noted and pointed towards the gate and the wall where a mass of enemies came running at full speed towards them."

"Prepare yourself!" Jiraiya shouted and formed a few handsigns before summoning human sized toads.

Gamakichi was among them, wearing full battle armor with a short katana in his hand. He looked towards the incoming Reavers. "So I guess that guy was telling the truth after all."

Jiraiya nodded with a serious look on his face. "We're waiting for reinforcements from Konoha but we're running low on men, could you help out a bit?"

Gamakichi thought about it for a bit. "Nope"

Jiraiya face faulted, "Gamakichi!"

"Just kidding, where do you want us?" Gamakichi chuckled.

"Defend the northern part of the market. I'll back you up later." Jiraiya ordered and received a nod from Gamakichi.

At the same time more metallic explosives streaked through air, only smaller in size this time. As they soared through the air one of the explosives hit an Hawk that was trying to fight off the enemy monstrosities, causing the Hawk to crash into the village in a ball of fire.

The metallic objects blew up at various parts in the village, setting the small town on fire.

Inari tried to ignore it all but found that he just couldn't, he looked around and made their way down his face as he saw his hometown go up in flames.

"The hawks have lost!" one of the samurai screamed and pointed to the sky as the hawks either crashed in the village or disappeared in a large cloud of smoke.

With the skies now clear the large beasts that previously had defeated the hawks now headed for the market, letting out a loud roar before they set a group of samurai on fire.

Kisame tried to counter their fire attacks with a few water jutsu but was forced to jump away.

"Oh my god! Those are dragons!" someone screamed in horror.

"That can't be! They don't exist!" another shouted, his voice laced with fear.

Itachi stood motionless as a dragon landed in front of him. "You chose your wrong target you disgusting beast." He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and activated Susanoo right away, summoning a skeleton based Susanoo.

Not wasting a moment he reached out with Susanoo's arm and gripped the snout of the dragon pulling it close before slamming his free fist on top of the beast's head, slamming it to the ground.

He quickly followed up with Amaterasu and set the dragon ablaze.

The dragon roared and tried to fly away but crashed to the ground again and didn't get back up.

"Nawi-san, Focus on the humans, Jiraiya will take care of the beasts." Itachi ordered

Nawi in return nodded and relayed the orders to his men.

"Jiraiya I need you to summon the big toads, those dragons are causing too much damage."

"I'm on it." Jiraiya's voice crackled through the headset.

Moments later three more clouds of smoke filled the ground and revealed three large toads, one of them being Gamabunta.

"Jiraiya, Where are you? You pervert!" Gamabunta roared, not appreciating the fact that he was summoned.

"Now is not the time to complain, Gamabunta. We're having some big problems here."

The Chief toad looked to the dragon who was rampaging near the eastern wall. "Is that a dragon? They were supposed to be extinct."

"Then how did the Reavers get their hands on the dragon summoning contract?"

Gamabunta didn't respond.

"We'll discuss this later, for now we have to keep these dragons away from the main defense until Kakashi comes with reinforcements." Jiraiya said as he ducked underneath a throwing knife that came his way.

Gamabunta answered by letting out a large puff of smoke he inhaled earlier through his pipe.

Ghost, slowly with his usable arm pushed away the wooden beam that had collapsed on him when he came crashing through the roof earlier. He groaned and pushed another beam away that lay across his legs.

He sat up and looked around the room he was lying in was in ruins. Most of the roof was collapsed around him, wooden beams that originally supported the roof was scattered around the room.

He stood up with another groan and pressed his hand on his left chest before pulling away, his hand was coated in blood. He then reached for his face and noticed a large cut on his cheek that partially cut his facemask.

He panted heavily as he slowing stumbled through the house heading for what he assumed the front door, ignoring the clashing of metal and the deafening roars outside.

Using the wall to his right as support he opened the partially destroyed door.

He looked around and saw bodies lying everywhere. With only a small group of samurai left standing, trying to fight off the horde of enemies. Kunai and shuriken flew everywhere, some hitting their targets.

He turned to the large beasts fighting against the toads, finally visible through the light of the moon. '_So they're dragons, but weren't they extinct?'_

An exploding tag landed near him and went off, blasting him against one of the walls of a store. Ghost shook his head and tried to stand up again. With a lot of difficulty he stood up again and breathed in deeply.

"Itachi? You still alive?" he asked with an exhausted voice after he reached for his headset.

"I'm still alive, but for a moment I thought you weren't."

"Like that's going to happen. Have a promise to keep." He answered as he tried to dust himself off, which only resulted in wincing because of his chest wound.

"I forgot about that for a while. So your still hell bent on taking us out?"

Ghost hesitated. Killing Itachi might've been on his agenda seven years ago, but now… No he couldn't do it and the Uchiha bastard knew it. He had become a close friend to him and that was something he treasured dearly.

"Thought so" he heard Itachi say and he knew that the bastard was smirking right now.

"Shut up," he grunted before straightening ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest. "Where the hell are Kakashi and his men?"

Itachi answered almost right away. "They can't be far out, after you got caught in the blast we decided to pull back from the walls as you can most likely see."

"How long have I been out?" Ghost asked, glancing to the destroyed gate.

"Close to an hour."

One of the samurai fell to the ground in front of his feet.

"We have to pull back, we can't hold out any longer." Itachi said.

Ghost sighed. "We can't do that; if we do they'll have no opposition and are free to attack Konoha."

"We can stall them by blowing up the bridge?" Itachi offered after a moment of silence.

Ghost saw that blonde haired female Reaver came sprinting towards him. He reached for his kunai pouch but noticed that his pouch wasn't there anymore he then reached for his tanto's strapped to his legs and noticed they too were gone. With a groan he ran towards the female with a slight hobble.

She threw a fist but Ghost blocked and countered with a fist of his own catching her right in the face.

Ghost jumped back and hastily with his bloodied hand formed a few hand signs. "Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu!" A blade of wind made its way to the female Reaver and easily cut her in two.

Ghost panted in exhaustion. "We'll go with that, I'm running low on chakra and from the looks of it we're running low on men as well. Go give the order." And with that he limped towards the gate.

"Ghost!"

Ghost turned around and saw a relieved Inari running over.

Before Inari could stop himself he threw himself at Ghost and hugged him. "Damn, Naruto I thought you were dead!"

Ghost with his one usable arm pushed him away roughly. "Inari, get a hold of yourself, we're pulling back to the bridge, go down to the headquarters and get some of the heavy exploding tags, we're going to blow up the bridge."

Inari initially shocked by Ghost's behavior was now gaping. "We can't blow up the bridge; it's our village's pride!"

"I don't fucking care, if we don't blow it up we are in some serious trouble."

More flaming rocks came crashing into the streets and buildings, destroying and setting everything on fire.

Inari wanted to object but decided against it and instead ran towards the headquarters.

'_Stupid kid.' _ Ghost thought with a shake of his head.

The remaining samurai broke of their attack and ran towards the gate, stumbling or falling over the dead bodies on the ground.

The remaining dragons ripped them apart left and right.

"Retreat to the bridge!" Nawi shouted while ramming his blade through the stomach of one of the Reavers that came running at him. He expertly blocked a blade that attacked him from his exposed left side and countered slash of his own that made a large cut of one of the more inexperienced Reavers before finishing him off with two more similar attacks.

He panted heavily but ignored it and focused on the next opponent that blocked his path to the bridge.

"**You're a fool to stand in our way. Submit to our greater strength and you will find peace in the next life"**

Nawi's eyes widened in fear, Itachi told him about them. Holders, never engage them alone. He looked around but didn't find any allies.

"**Your comrades have already left, you are alone." **The man in front of him said.

Knowing he didn't stand a chance he turned to meet his maker. He held his katana in reverse grip and jumped with his blade high above his head.

The holder saw the attack coming and easily dodged out of the way and broke the man's kneecap with a kick as he landed.

Nawi roared in pain and swung wildly with his blade as he stumbled and fell to the ground.

The Reaver blocked the attack with his metal gauntlet and with his free hand reached for Nawi's wrist and gave it a twist, breaking it and giving Nawi no other choice then to drop his blade.

"**Knowing you fight against a more powerful opponent you still hold your ground and fight. You people are of a strange sort."**

Nawi groaned in pain as he cradled his wrist to his chest. "Wouldn't you?" he hissed.

"**There aren't a lot of men or women that could defeat me. So I can't put myself in your shoes. But, enough with the talking." **The Holder said and he casually reached for his own blade and stabbed him through the chest right where the heart was.

Nawi coughed and he felt himself growing tired. "You…Won't take…our home…" he slurred before Nawi closed his eyes never opening them again.

The holder turned his attention to the bridge, where the last of the samurai where making their stand. **"Lasting, send in everyone."**

The man named Lasting dropped from one of the roofs and landed beside his comrade. He was wearing dark red robes, very similar to those of the Hunters. He had a scar that crossed his left cheek and had a calm calculated look. He had his long and loose, a bit ruffled but that fit his whole calm exterior. "They are already marching through the gate. What do you want to do with the dragons?"

"**Allow them to rest, they've done their job, but tell them that they can expect to be summoned at any moment." **

With a nod Lasting left.

Ghost walked across the bridge supported by Itachi, a small handful of samurai around them.

"What do we do?" someone asked, fear evidently in his voice.

"We're blowing up the bridge." Itachi said as he put Ghost on the ground.

"What? No we can't do that! Nawi and the others might still be alive!"

Ghost groaned and leaned against the left side of the bridge. "If they're not here then they're dead."

Inari who had just finished setting up the explosives shook his head fervently. "Nawi is too tough to die! He's coming!"

Kisame who had his infamous sword leaning on his shoulders stepped forward. "Shut it brat, if you look towards the village you can already see Reavers marching to the bridge. "

Inari who struggled with his emotions just looked to the other side and walked away.

"Blow the bridge the moment they're crossing it." Itachi ordered Kisame who just nodded.

Itachi walked over to Ghost and grabbed him by the arm and slung it around his shoulder. "Come on let's go."

Ghost nodded and tried to put as much energy into walking on his own.

Itachi noticed. "Don't do that, Ghost, I got you."

Ghost smirked. "Don't think for a second that I owe you."

Itachi gave a small smile before walking off the bridge and to the edge of the forest. "Yes you do"

"Screw you, Itachi…" Ghost merely grunted.

Jiraiya walked up next to Kisame who held his hand in a seal.

"Where are those toads of yours?" Kisame asked, his eyes never leaving the marching army.

"Send them back the moment we retreated. They are pretty much useless against dragons."

Kisame nodded before opening his mouth. "it's time!"

At that moment large explosion shook the area and blew a large portion of the bridge apart, killing every Reaver who had stood upon it.

xXx

Shikamaru who landed on one of the tree branches almost lost his balance as a large explosion took place.

Ino landed on a branch below him. "Holy shit! That was one big explosion!"

Kakashi motioned with his hand to keep moving.

It didn't take them long to reach the edge of the forest where a sight of fire and destruction met them.

"My god, Kakashi could you be any slower?" an exhausted voice said in annoyance.

Kakashi looked to where the voice originated and saw Ghost leaning against a tree with his hands in his lap.

Kakashi quickly moved to Ghost and crouched down next to him, lifting up his mask. "Ghost what happened? You were supposed to hold the village."

Ghost coughed. "What happened? I'll tell you what happened, you took too damn long! We didn't stand a chance."

Kakashi grabbed him by the arm and helped him up. "We came as fast we could."

Ghost grabbed his facemask and pulled it down before spitting a mouthful of blood on the ground. "Doesn't change the fact that we still lost the village."

Shikamaru stepped forward and eyed the Hunter. "We have to retake it."

Ghost chuckled before coughing again. "No way in hell that we can take the village back. They've come in force. Their army outmatches our own."

Ino joined the small group as well and looked at Ghost who looked exhausted. "You're not looking too good. Maybe you should lie down for a bit."

Ghost sneered. "I don't need your advice, "He limped forward pushing away Kakashi's offered hand. " You got a plan, Kakashi?"

Kakashi ignored Ino's glare she gave Ghost and nodded. "We'll put our men on our forward outpost a few clicks from here."

"How much further from the outpost is the actual line of defense Kakashi?" Itachi asked as he joined the group, along with Kisame, Jiraiya and a distraught Inari. Behind them were the few remaining samurai.

"Around the 10 to 15 miles. So should the forward outpost be attacked we'll be properly prepared." The silver haired Anbu answered.

"Whatever, it took you long enough." Kisame growled.

Kakashi glanced at the missing-nin who didn't look to worse for wear, he had few tears in his cloak but that was about it. He turned to the men. "Grab the wounded, we're moving out."

Itachi didn't move. "I'm staying for a while longer. I'm going to buy some extra time by channeling my chakra in the water so that if they know how to walk on water they'll just lose their balance."

Jiraiya nodded. "Don't stay for too long, you don't know what else they might cook up."

Ghost signaled Kisame who walked over and roughly grabbed him by the arm and slung Ghost's arm over his shoulder.

* * *

><p>I hope you all enjoyed it I if you did leave a review, I love reading them!<p>

Until next time!


	15. Chapter 15: A Small Break

I'm back! And I must say, I'm quite disappointed with the amount of reviews I'm getting, You know when you add this story to your favorites and story alert it kinda means you enjoy reading it…But apparently writing one or two lines is too much…Good to know.

Story favs: 228

Followers: 265

Reviews: 87

You see where I'm going with this ;p?

To the reviewers that did review; Thank youuuuuuu I love reading it I love it, I love it, I love it!

Anonymous reviewers:

Ezra Scalet: Am I a genius like Itachi? I hope so because he's badass :D

Guest: *evil smirk* I was planning on throwing you four chapters at once but since you insulted me I plan on releasing just one. (+1 for making me laugh a lot)

Just a person: Thanks :D I'm planning on releasing another story pretty soon which will take place in the Halo universe, so if you're a Halo fan you just might want to check out my profile from time to time ;)

For some of you readers who think that 'Ghost is too weak because he got his ass kicked twice etc. Don't worry, I've got it all planned out! This story is far from over, in fact! We're just getting started; this story will pass the 150K words easily.

Also I told earlier that I was planning on a Mass effect story. Unfortunately I am halting that for the moment because I got dragged back into the Halo universe and I'm loving every second of it :P

So yeah, expect a Halo story coming up soon.

Ps: the poll is well underway and I want to thank you all for voting! I am keeping the poll open for at least three or four more chapters, since I don't have any romance planned yet (or at all depending on the outcome)

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 15**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 15 - A Small Break~<p>

It took them a little over a day to get back with the wounded to Konoha. The remaining defenders of Tsuchi No Kuni decided to go straight for Konoha instead.

Ghost held his hand at the side trying to limit his blood loss as much as possible. After 'merging' with the Kyuubi things had gotten interesting to say the least.

Flashback: four and a half years after Naruto's disappearance.

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night after having another of his hellish nightmares. Since touching the strange tattoo in Nami no Kuni they had come and every few weeks. But lately they had come more frequently.

Hawke having left for two weeks Naruto was alone in the cabin in the middle of nowhere.

He stood up from the bed and walked a few steps before dropping to the ground, jolts of excruciating pain shooting through his arm. "What the h- " The pain intensified and images of death and fire flashed before his eyes. He gave in to the pain and blacked out.

Mindscape

Naruto scrambled to his feet. "Kyuubi! What's going on!" he looked to the cage but noticed no movement.

"Kyuubi?"

"**Brat…Come closer…"**

Naruto did what was asked and came closer; he saw the enormous but still form of the fox. "What's happening to us?"

The Kyuubi focused his gaze on Naruto. **"It's time"**

Naruto sighed; he knew it would eventually come. "What now?" the blonde asked, unable to meet Kyuubi's gaze.

"**I have one thing to give to you." **The Kyuubi managed to growl.

Naruto stepped through the cage, which had taken quite a long time for him to be able to do. He crouched down in front of Kyuubi and looked at him with a sad face. "What do you want to give?"

"**My chakra, I will give you what is left of my chakra and merge it with yours. Should you survive the transition, you will get an enormous boost in power." **The Kyuubi's demonic eyes drooped a bit.

Naruto looked confused. "It can't be that simple?"

Kyuubi gave a low growl but answered the question anyway. **"There are some side effects with me dying. You will no longer recover as fast from your wounds as you always had and poison will have a much bigger effect. Also your markings on your face will disappear until you trigger my power."**

If it was even possible, Naruto looked even more confused. "Trigger?"

"**Our chakra will merge, but you can still choose whether to use it or not."**

Naruto nodded in understanding and placed his hand on one of Kyuubi's claw. "Thanks…for everything, I won't let you down."

"**You better not, brat or I'll feast on your bones when we meet in hell! And remember what I told you!"**

Naruto smiled despite the situation. "Don't worry, I'll show them not to mess with the Nine Tails demon."

Kyuubi gave out a last bark of laughter. "**Take care, Naruto Uzumaki, may you become a true Ghost among your enemies."**

Naruto bowed his head. "I hope we'll eventually meet again, Kurama, no matter where we end up." A single tear made its way down his cheek, followed by another and another.

The Kyuubi remained silent and slowly faded away at the same time an orange mist filled the room.

Naruto dropped to the ground as everything became dark around him.

He didn't wake up for another three days.

When he finally woke up he didn't stand up and just laid there, knowing that he never felt more alone at that moment. When he finally pulled himself up he walked to a mirror and examined himself.

The only major thing he noticed was that his whisker marks were gone. He looked to his sleeve of his shirt and saw a black tattoo line on his arm.

He pulled up his short sleeve and saw the same tattoo he saw on the body in Nami No Kuni.

Without really knowing why, he channeled his chakra to the tattoo which started to glow faintly. He looked at it with wide eyes before an agonizing pain shot through his arm. "What** th**e** fuck!" **Naruto screamed out and used his other hand to keep him upright.

He looked at his left arm and saw something which caused him to fall on his butt. His hand looked like a sort scaled black claw. **"What the-" **His eyes were as wide a saucers **"What the hell is going on here!" **His voice was a mix of his own and that of the Kyuubi's.

He stood up and looked in the mirror again. He noticed that his whisker marks were back and that his eyes were just like the Kyuubi's.

He slowly started hyperventilating. He stumbled through the small cottage and made his way to the door before slumping to the ground. His breathing became shallower and black dots filled his vision.

End flashback

Ghost came to a halt before the gates of Konoha with Kisame beside him. He looked over his shoulder and saw everyone's relief that they had finally arrived.

The gates opened and they walked through, only to be met by a large crowd, the civilians of Nami No Kuni had been waiting for them.

"Bring the wounded here!" someone shouted

Ghost looked to his right and saw Sakura along with a few other medic-nin standing with their equipment close by.

Ghost had the urge to leave and just bleed out somewhere under a tree but decided against it and walked over to Sakura. "You," he pointed to her. "Fix me up now."

Sakura narrowed her eyes in anger. "You have serious anger issues, and I'm not doing anything until you ask normally."

Ghost mimicked her and narrowed his eyes as well. He pointed again. "If it weren't for me, you would've lost a lot of shinobi and maybe even those civilians of yours," Ghost grunted when he felt another stab of pain shoot through his body. "Now, if it Isn't too much trouble, could you fix me up?"

Sakura gave a fake smile. "Of course I can, sit down."

Ghost sat down and removed his tunic revealing a black shirt with a large cut in it. He pulled the blood soaked shirt and dropped it to the ground.

Sakura took a closer look at the wound and then gently placed her hand on his chest before it started glowing green. "The cut is deep but not life threatening, this should do the trick."

Ghost ignored her and had his eyes closed his thoughts far away.

"_Mister? What's going on?"_

_He looked down at the boy with cold calculated eyes, his hands slowly reaching for his kunai pouch._

"_Stay away from my son! Please just let him leave! Let me take his place!"_

"_What you fail to understand is," He said as he grabbed one of the kunai. "That no one leaves this village alive"_

"And it's done, not even a scar." Sakura's voice ringed through his ears.

Ghost stayed silent and stood up, putting his shirt back on, as well as his tunic, leaving the hood where it was.

Sakura growled at the man. "A thank you would be nice you know!"

Ghost ignored her and made his way to the headquarters.

"Ghost!"

The Blonde Hunter turned around and saw Micheru approaching, he gave a nod.

"I heard you were back, things aren't going to good are they?" She asked him with concern after looking him over. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just tired, and I feel like crap, it's like I got blasted through a roof, which I technically did."

Micheru chuckled but smothered it with her hand. "I won't hold you up, but there was a young teen looking for you, Inari was his name?"

Ghost rubbed his face with his hand. "The kid is really becoming annoying."

Micheru raised an eyebrow and pointed over her shoulder. "You want me to get him for you?"

Ghost shook his head and opened the double doors of the headquarters. "He can wait, I'm catching some shuteye, see you in a few."

"I'll tell the others not to disturb you." Micheru said as she looked into Ghost's blue eyes.

Ghost gave a small smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it." And with that he turned around and headed upstairs.

Micheru's eyes followed him until he was out of sight and headed for the cafeteria.

Ghost entered his room and without even changing he dropped on his bed and fell asleep.

xXx

Kakashi looked around the outpost and was satisfied with what he saw. They had entrenched themselves in one of the many forests that was close to the border with a few wooden towers placed along the outpost.

He entered the headquarters and saw Shikamaru sitting comfortable. "Status?"

Shikamaru straightened and looked down on the map on the table. "Everything's up and running, except for communications, we're still working on that." He then pointed to a spot not far from their camp. "Hawke is patrolling with his squad here, and this route will be kept under observation, because this is most likely where they'll attack from.

It was at that moment Itachi came walking in.

Kakashi gave him a cold look, to him Itachi was the enemy and that would never change. "What are you doing here?"

Itachi gave him a glance. "Just passing through, thought you wanted to know that they have taken complete control of Nami No Kuni and are on their way to the border."

Shikamaru looked surprised for a moment. "Already? They're fast."

"Nami No Kuni only has one village and nothing is stopping them from marching straight to the border."

Kakashi turned to Shikamaru. "Call back Hawke and his squad, I want everyone prepared."

"How big is the defense force here?" Itachi asked showing as much interest as always.

Shikamaru looked at Itachi with a neutral expression, he hadn't forgotten about their little stunt a week ago. "We are 300 strong, the force consists of chunin and jonin."

Itachi stayed silent for a moment, and then he gave out an almost inaudible sigh. "It's best If I stay around for a while."

At that moment Ino came walking in followed by Hawke who gave a nod towards Itachi. "You'll be helping them, Itachi?"

Itachi nodded. "You aren't staying?

Hawke shook his head. "I'm heading back to Konoha, but I'll be back later on when things heat up," He smirked. "This is going to be on hell of a fight."

Shikamaru just shook his head. "Troublesome bunch…"

xXx

Couple of days later.

Ghost looked into Kisame's eyes never wavering.

Kisame had the exact same look, he didn't back down one inch.

This was what greeted Robatsu and Micheru when they walked into the lounge of their headquarters.

Ghost smirked. "Pocket ace" and laid his cards on the table.

Rome sighed and put his cards away without showing them.

Kisame smirked. "Full house! You can't win from me with this game." Showing a king and a two, combining them with the two two's and a king on the table.

"Damn, screw you Sushi" he roughly shoved his money towards Kisame.

Kisame just grinned like a madman.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" Micheru asked as she sat down next to Rome and Ghost, staying clear from Kisame.

"Nope" Both Kisame and Ghost said, while Rome stayed silent.

Micheru chuckled. "Ghost, are you going with us to the Kage Summit?"

"Yeah… Not going to happen." Ghost replied in a casual tone.

Kisame snickered and stood up from the table. "Tomorrow? "

Ghost smirked and stood up as well. "Might as well, no one is lucky enough to win twice in a row."

Kisame pointed at him. "And that is where your wrong, brat, you need just as much skill as luck."

Ghost grabbed one of the remaining chips and flicked it to Kisame, hitting him in the face. "There's your skill."

Kisame's grin never left his face. "Can't stand it that I got your hard earned money? I don't hear Rome complaining."

Rome shrugged. "We earn enough on bounties."

Kisame grin grew even wider. "That's right and If I remember, Ghost here earned quite some money on an assignment that had him working with us."

Ghost's whole demeanor changed and he sent a d dark glare to Kisame.

Rome gave a questioning look. "I don't recall ever assigning you with one of them." The bald hunter said as he waved his hand towards the Akatsuki member.

Ghost stayed silent for a long time. "It was a job," He slowly began. "They needed my expertise with and I agreed."

Robatsu spoke up. "What kind of assignment was it?"

Ghost gave Kisame another look. "An…Ah, just a couple of shinobi who were a threat to the Akatsuki."

Micheru snorted. "Sure, and the Akatsuki weren't capable of taking them out by themselves?"

"We weren't" Kisame replied, not able to hide the sour tone in his voice.

Micheru felt herself growing angrier with every passing second. "You're telling me that the most lethal rogue Shinobi organization in the Elemental countries weren't able to take down a couple of shinobi?"

Ghost looked Kisame in the eye and a small smile formed on his lips. "Sounds about right"

It was then that Rome butted in. "Ghost you are a Hunter, and that means that when you are wearing the Hunters outfit you are under our command. If you wore that outfit during your assignment with the Akatsuki you are under the obligation to give us all the details."

Ghost nodded. "I know that very well, Rome, and that's why I didn't wear it at that time. "

Rome smiled and gave a nod of his own. "Alright then, no need to continue this discussion."

Micheru couldn't believe what she was hearing; she was getting sick and tired of Ghost's lies. "Rome, are you serious?"

Rome turned to Micheru. "Everyone has their secrets, Micheru; Ghost is no different, if he doesn't want to tell than that's his decision, and we have to respect that."

Ghost placed his chair back under the table and walked away, Kisame walking beside him.

"When are you going to stop lying to your friends, Ghost?" the petite blonde shouted after him.

. "I never started." He inwardly winced but never stopped walking and he reached the door and walked through it.

Micheru had a quizzical look. "What does that mean?"

"Well…" Robatsu started. "Either he's saying that he in fact never lied or he never considered us as his friends."

Micheru looked at her fellow Hunter. "Not seeing us as his friend?" she asked more to herself then Robatsu, she glanced to the door Ghost went through earlier.

Kisame looked at Ghost from the corner of his eyes. "You've got guts, brat."

They rounded a corner and arrived in the small hall of their headquarters; they walked through the front door and stepped outside, the bright sun shining down on them. The streets were filled with traders and civilians going about their lives, not a care in the world despite the dark days that were crawling closer.

"Hmm?" Ghost murmured as he put on his sunglasses.

"Lying like that, you certainly won't make friends with what you just pulled."

Ghost smirked. "I'm not here to make any friends, I'm here to stop the biggest threat we ever faced, just as you are. But why do you even care, you're the heartless bastard remember?"Kisame slapped him on the shoulder. "I don't care, but it was amusing to see their faces."

Ghost gave a rare grin and shook his head. "You'll never change."

"I thought you would've learned it by now, brat. Enough talking already, I need a drink."

"I guess that's one way to pass time." Ghost replied, and led the way by making a sharp left heading for the nearest inn.

They sat down in a corner; they were in luck since the inn was filled to the brim with shinobi whom were off duty.

"If I come across one more of my old 'colleagues', I'm going to kill myself." Ghost muttered as he clipped his glasses back on his shirt.

Kisame snickered and waved to the nearest waitress and ordered a few drinks asking for small shot glasses instead of regular dishes.

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "What's wodka?"

Kisame turned his eyes back to Ghost after eyeing the waitress a little longer than was considered decent. "wodka is the good stuff, some old man brought it from the western part of world a long time ago, it isn't very popular but sake gets old after a while."

The waitress returned with the drinks and left quickly, not feeling safe around the two S ranked criminals.

Ghost eyed it with distrust before shrugging with his shoulders and downed the drink. A moment later he coughed and slammed his hand on the table. "Kami! What is this crap?"

Kisame laughed, enjoying Ghost's inability to keep his cool. "it's good right?"

Ghost breathed in heavily and ignored his burning throat. "Y-yeah, give me another."

It was at that moment Hawke let himself fall into the seat next to Kisame. "Ah great, I could use one of those!" he grabbed the small glass and downed the drink before going into a coughing fit as well. "Vodka, w-who drinks what vodka around here?!" he managed to ask between his intakes of breath.

"Wodka" Ghost corrected and smirked at Hawke's behavior.

"Wodka, vodka it's all the same." Hawke said after catching his breath.

Kisame leaned forward with an evil grin and barked, "So, who's up for a little drinking game?"

"I am" a voice said.

The three men looked up and saw Jiraiya standing with a plate of sake in his hand.

Ghost slapped himself in the face. "This is not going to end well.

"Who is holding a drinking game and isn't inviting me?" a female voice shouted.

They looked to where the voice came from and saw an attractive woman with violet hair pushing herself past the crowd of people.

"Who are you?" Kisame rudely asked.

She slammed her fist down on the table as she sat down. "I am Mitarashi Anko, and you all just lost!"

Ghost could only sigh in annoyance.

xXx

Ghost returned from the bathroom and looked at the table. Hawke was out of it and was asleep with his head on the table and from the looks of it Jiraiya was well on his way in following Hawke's footsteps.

Kisame on the other hand was feeling the effects of the drinks but he wasn't as wasted as Jiraiya or Hawke.

What surprised him the most was Anko's ability to keep up; she had an iron liver or something because she was looking as sober as she was when she walked in.

Ghost slumped down in his chair, he too began to feel the effects of the wodka and sake but he'd be damned if he let himself be beaten by a woman, blue skinned Akatsuki agents he'd allow but he had to draw the line somewhere. "Alright, I got a game which is going to be a good one."

Anko grinned mischievously. "What's it called?"

Ghost shrugged. "No idea but it's a killer alright." Anko was one of the few he could actually stand. She never showed any hatred other than her normally bitchy behavior. Which reminded him of himself when he was younger and back when he was still a shinobi of Konoha.

He grabbed a pack of cards and shuffled them. He each gave one card, upside down.

"What now?" Kisame muttered.

One the count of three you place the card on your face, showing what it is to everyone else but without knowing it yourself, then the one with the lowest card has to take the shot."

Anko grinned and ran a hand through her hair. "Let's get this thing going!"

Ghost smirked and threw the cards on the table and grabbed his own, slapping it on his forehead. He looked at Anko's card who had a three. He glanced at Kisame's card which revealed to be a nine.

Ghost chuckled. "Oh Anko your screwed!"

Anko laughed and pointed at his card. "You wish buddy!"

Kisame snickered. "Let's show 'em!"

They all at once put their cards back on the table.

Ghost's card turned out to be a two.

Ghost looked at Anko's card and his smirk from earlier vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. "Fuck me…How big are the odds?" The blonde grabbed a shot and drank it; he grimaced for a moment and then sighed. "Alright let's keep this going."

Anko could only smirk evilly at Ghost. "Great game you picked out.

Kisame cracked his knuckles. "Such a shame Itachi isn't here."

Ghost laughed and shook his head. "No thanks we wouldn't be left standing if we did this with him."

Ghost gave them another card and continued the game.

xXx

Kenpachi sat in the destroyed office that once belonged to Tsuchikage. Earth country was under his control. There were some fights here and there but that was it. The unfortunate part was that the Tsuchikage had survived and escaped the battle, but barely.

A Reaver walked into the office and gave a short bow. "Lord Kenpachi, I'm sorry to disturb you, but there's a man here to see you."

Kenpachi didn't look up. "One of ours?"

The Reaver shook his head. "No, sir, he's a Shinobi."

Kenpachi looked up. "Now that's interesting, did he say why he wants to speak to me?"

"Only thing he said was that he's supporting our invasion."

Now that made Kenpachi curious and that didn't happen a lot. "Send him in."

The subordinate nodded and with a bow left the office and signaled someone.

A man with grey hair and glasses stepped in. "It's an honor to meet you Lord Kenpachi, I've heard a lot about your achievements."

Kenpachi stood up and walked over to the man. "You said you are supporting our invasion, why?"

The Shinobi smiled and adjusted his glasses. "My lord agrees to your vision that the Shinobi world needs to be destroyed."

Kenpachi kept a neutral look on his face. "And why does your 'lord' want it destroyed?"

"He's attained many enemies in his path to power. He's fought many battles with them and was forced to hide for a while," the grey haired male sat down on a partial destroyed couch. "Now with your unexpected arrival he thinks that now is the best time to strike back."

"And why would I want an ally? My forces are more than capable of destroying your world."

The grey haired shinobi chuckled. "One of your enemies, Konoha, are very persistent and from what we've gathered they are working together with both the Akatsuki and another S rank organization called The Hunters," The man paused for a moment, waiting for any sort of reaction. When that didn't happen he continued. "We know you want them dead, and my master can offer you a way in without having to start an all-out siege."

Kenpachi stroked his chin. "Interesting, and what's in it for you?"

"My Lord will offer you the way in, all he asks in return is that he accompanies your men when you prepare your attack."

Kenpachi nodded. "I accept but if you double cross me you'll want to wish you were never born."

The Shinobi smiled. "Nothing of the sort Lord Kenpachi"

Kenpachi narrowed his eyes but nodded nonetheless. "Now then, what is your master's name?"

"My name is Kabuto and my Lord's name is Orochimaru."

"I'm looking forward to meeting this 'Orochimaru'." Kenpachi said and turned around striding out of the office.

Kabuto gave a small bow. "As does he, Lord Kenpachi."

* * *

><p>I apologize in advance for any mistakes I might've made, I'm only human ;)<p>

Also, some people will think that Ghost was too harsh towards Micheru and Rome but I wanted to use that to eventually make a strong bond and sometimes you need a little bit of disappointment along the way.

I hope that people who favorite and follow etc do leave a review, it takes only thirty seconds and I accept all kind of reviews, especially constructive criticism! (No flaming though!)

Until next time party people!


	16. Chapter 16: The Morning After

I'm back and I'm presenting to you chapter 16! With this chapter we're hitting the 80k words, yay! With so many more yet to come!

For all the people who favorite etc as usual thanks for the support it means a lot!

For those who took the time to scribble a review; you are all great! It means the world to me to read that people enjoy the story , giving me even more motivation to write the next chapter even faster!

Anonymous and the non-anonymous whom I forgot to respond to:

Trak The Cat: glad you like it, I hope I live up to your expectations with this chapter as well!

Iluvninjas: oh you'll be wanting to snap his neck when you read the next couple of chapters ^^

AnonymouPeeples: I'll try my very best!

Wolf West: Last chapter made up for it! But still I'm not doing it for the reviews, the reviews are just a very very welcome bonus :)

ManicBunny: Although that would be one of the biggest plottwists for this story I won't be doing that, I'm sorry, rest assured though that Micheru even though isn't the strongest she will eventually make more than up for that :D

Ezra Scarlet: Thanks for the review! It made my day :) and I'm glad to hear that I have such great followers reading this story! Unfortunately though I can't exactly give you the exact dates when I'll be bringing out the next chapters because I don't know, for example; I didn't expect the delay with this chapter, but vacations over and I'm right back into work. Not that I'm using it as an excuse to put this story on hold like many other writers on FF did (I'll never do that!)

Cariangelus: It will get more interesting alright *evil laughter* also thank you for taking your time to vote!

Igor De Souza Santos: I hope this chapter will be just as good as the last one :)

SugarISmyLIFE: *hands over a handful of sugar* Naruto as a badass fill up the best stories here on fanfic :D. I came up with the idea for poker while I was playing poker, I was in a similar situation :P

Oh and you can bet your butt that I'm not abandoning this story ;)

Also, the poll is still open people! Give me your thoughts on what to do, for the people who are thinking about NarutoxHinata, I have an interesting plot already written out!

For NarutoXsomeonenotfromKonoha: Also, epic plot planned here!

For NarutoXNo-one: That will be the usual epic plot that was already planned out for a while, (still majorly epic!)

Ps: for any halo fans reading this; large summary incoming:

New Jerusalem, a large colony in the Cygnus system, everyone knew about the battle for Mount Haven but there was another fight that was of just as much importance: Defend the city of Dawn Creek, by any means necessary, and the 22th ODST Battalion was planning on doing just that.

Obviously a battle that wasn't written in the books. With that said any errors shouldn't be taken too seriously since I haven't read any books (am reading Fall of Reach though).

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 16**

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><p>~Chapter 16 - the morning after~<p>

Ghost opened one eye and immediately closed it again when he noticed the crack of sunlight shining upon him. "Too bright" he grumbled and turned around. He let out a sigh of relief and dug deeper in his pillow.

Lying a bit uncomfortable he slid his hand across the, matrass until he found something warm and round. "Hmm" he mumbled something incoherent and rolled closer to where his hand was lying previously. He grabbed the warm object and tried to pull it closer.

It was at that exact moment that Ghost realized that he never before had any warm round objects in his bed. His eyes shot open and looked straight in the eyes of the devil himself, only in a female form. Anko. "What the F-!"

Anko smirked. "Good morning to you too"

Ghost looked around and saw that he wasn't in his room in HQ but most likely Anko's apartment. "What the hell am I doing in your bed?!"

Anko laughed and lied back down. "That stupid game of yours must have been the cause of this; last thing I remember was Kisame going to your HQ and you offering to go another round."

Ghost grunted and relaxed, now that he was wide awake he started to feel the hangover. "Well that's the last time I'm doing that again."

"I didn't hear ya complaining when you were groping me just now" Anko said with an evil grin on her face, clearly enjoying Ghost's predicament.

"Anko, do you want the truth?" Ghost asked her.

Anko nodded. "I think I can handle it."

"You're a babe, alright? So now that we've cleared that up, you'll never hear me complain when I'm waking up next to you, naked," he smirked, If she wanted to play that game he could do that too. "Only thing I regret is I don't remember any of it."

"Alright then, I'd say it's time for round two!" and with that she climbed on top of him, ignoring his objections.

Ghost looked at her body, now in full view and shrugged. "Ah, might as well enjoy it"

Anko leaned forward and dug her nails in his chest.

"You purple haired bitch, you're going to regret that!" he hissed and threw her off of him and managed to end on top of her.

"Let's see what you've got, pretty boy" she said, underlining the word 'boy'.

"If you think you'll get away with calling me 'boy' you're dead wrong, you purple haired torturing slut." He insulted and he grabbed a kunai which was for some unknown reason was lying on the bed. He threw it away, pinning it to the wall.

Anko narrowed her eyes in anger. "What did you just call me?"

Ghost eyes widened in fear. _'Oh boy, shouldn't have said that!'_

XxX

Ghost sighed as he looked at his bandaged arm. _'That woman is crazy! That's the first and last time I ever do something with her again. And where the hell did that second kunai come from?!'_ He opened the doors that lead to the hall of the HQ and headed straight to the mess hall. On the right side of the room you could get breakfast and dinner, all compensated thanks to the Hokage, the rest of the room had a lounge in the opposite side and some tables scattered throughout the rest of the room

He saw Hawke sitting who had a sulky look on his face, Ghost walked over and sat down. "What's with the look on your face?" the blonde asked.

Hawke looked up, his face pale and a small bead of sweat was forming on his forehead. "I hate vodka."

Ghost smirked. "I had fun" He too had an hangover but his was nothing compared to what Hawke had.

Hawke glared at him but failed miserably. "Yea, I'd say you had some fun…sleeping with the enemy."

Ghost raised an eyebrow which became noticeable because it stuck out above his sunglasses. "Konoha is my enemy, but not all the inhabitants are my enemies, there were one or two that supported me."

"Like Anko?"

"No but she's hot so that doesn't count." Ghost waved with his hand after seeing Hawke's sweat drop. "Seriously, though, she didn't support me but she wasn't one of those backstabbers."

Hawke looked at him with a questioning pale gaze. "But from what you told me those others didn't help you as well, but you can't stand them…You're confusing me here."

Ghost resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "She wasn't one of my friends; I had seen her perhaps once during the chunin exams I told you about. My 'friends' who I knew pretty good didn't do a damn thing."

Hawke grabbed his glass of water and drank it all at once. "You never did tell me what you feel about us staying here."

Ghost sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I hate every second of it. This is probably the only country I don't mind seeing fall to the Reavers."

Hawke just shook his head, combining it with a chuckle. "That bad?"

Ghost nodded. "I want them all to die, orders are refraining me from actually killing them." He added the last part with a smirk.

Ghost noticed movement from the corner of his left eye and looked up. "Pein, what can we do for you?"

Pein looked at him with a neutral expression. "The Hokage wishes to speak to both of you before she leaves for the Kage summit."

Ghost stood up, followed by Hawke. "Are you going to the Kage summit?"

"My presence wouldn't do any good." Was all the leader of the Akatsuki said.

Ghost shrugged, "Makes sense I suppose," he nudged Hawke and headed for the Hokage tower.

"I wonder what she wants." Hawke asked as they walked through the street, past a group of kids playing hide and seek.

"If she asks us to join on this Kage summit I'm going to refuse no matter what Mayu or Rome has to say." Ghost said as he pushed a civilian out of the way who in turn looked at him in anger before noticing that he was a Hunter and quickly walked away.

Hawke who still looked as pale as ever stopped and quickly ran to one of the alleys.

Ghost noticed and smirked. "Your disgusting, can't even hold your liquor"

Hawke who had vomited in the alley came back out. "Doesn't count when you're having a hangover so shut up already…"

Ghost chuckled and they continued heading for the tower, ignoring the disgusting looks they were giving Hawke.

They entered the tower and went straight the Hokage's office, they entered and casually stood in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Glad you could make it. Now Mayu here," Tsunade pointed to Mayu who was sitting on the couch beside the door. "Says that your one of their best."

Ghost yawned. "Could we get to the point already…"

Tsunade coughed. "Yes, well, our shinobi aren't really filled in on what the Reavers exactly are and what their capabilities are."

Mayu stood up and leaned against the desk, looking at both Hawke and Ghost. "She wants you both to fill in the students at the academy and some of the higher ranking shinobi so they can tell that to their respective squads."

Ghost scratched his arm and shrugged. "I was planning on doing some other stuff actually."

Mayu narrowed her eyes at Ghost's annoying attitude. "It wasn't a request, Ghost."

The blonde sighed. "Fine, I'll head for the academy, but if you think that I'm planning on going past every class in the building, I'm going to have to disappoint you."

Mayu shook her head. "Just the final class who are almost ready on becoming genin, afterwards the teacher can pass it on to their new class, all the while not frightening the younger kids."

"I guess I'll head that way then, good luck Hawke, in your current condition you'll need it."

Hawke in turn gave a rude gesture before listening to the Hokage, while Ghost made his way out of the office.

xXx

Rome stood up from his chair and drank the remainder of his drink that still stood on the table; he reached for his bag and slung it over his shoulder. It would be days before they'd get back.

He rubbed his neck and headed for his room. The invasion was well underway and he didn't have a lot of faith, not only in the Kage Summit but in the war as well. Sure they had more capable fighters then they had in Mirarca and more men overall, but Mirarca was united under one nation they had no trust issues with another country. Here they had.

He still remembered the day when it all started in Mirarca.

Flashback 15 years ago, Mirarca.

18 year old Rome with dark brown ruffled hair walked through the streets of their capital; Devine. Devine was located on a large cliff that looked out on the sea. It was a beautiful sunny day.

Rome looked at his clothing and nodded in satisfaction. He was wearing the standard outfit every soldier was required to wear, Dark blue pants which had leather patches on his knee. His short sleeved shirt was similar, dark blue with leather patches on his elbow. He was wearing a white vest which was heavy because of the metal beneath the fabric.

"Whats up Romy!" someone shouted and Rome turned around to see his longtime friend from back when they both were still brats walking towards him.

Rome slapped him on the shoulder. "What's up Mike? Just got off guard duty did ya?"

Mike shoved him away playfully and gave him the finger. "Fucking guard duty, ain't gonna build up experience this way."

Rome held up a finger to stop him from talking further, then with a low and deep voice he spoke, "Ah but young Mike, you must understand that guard duty itself is quite the experience!"

Mike face palmed. "I can't remember I fell for the old gooks words."

Rome gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "We all did, I remember when I heard him say that and I volunteered for the first available spot."

Mike chuckled. "Yeah but your past the first year, you're in the second year that means no more guard duty!"

Rome raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I still have guard duty, just not as often as you."

"But…Thomas said that after the first year there would be no more lame assignments!"

Rome let out a bark of laughter and he waved with his hands around. "Look at this, there is no war! Do you really expect to get some awesome assignment while we're at peace? You better get used to it buddy because this is what you can expect for a long time to come."

Mike hung his head in defeat, his red hair fell before his his eyes. "Ah well," he looked up again with a grin. "At least I can look at the ladies!" he waved to a blonde girl who passed by and completely ignored him.

"You'll never change." Rome muttered.

They headed for the market and were soon joined by a few more off duty guards.

As Rome made small talk with Mike he noticed from the corner of his eyes something. He turned his head towards the sky. "What is that?" he asked as he pointed to the many objects that were closing in on the capital.

"Everybody take cover!" a female guard screamed as guards and civilians alike started running for their lives.

The objects which appeared to be dark cases landed everywhere.

Rome and the other guards had their weapons drawn and slowly walked to one of the cases.

One of the guards spoke up. "Johnson, check it out."

"Understood," and Johnson cautiously walked forward. His short blade tightly gripped.

He first looked around and when he found nothing he tried to open it.

It was then that screams of terror filled the city.

Rome jerked around and looked around, clearly startled by the sudden screams.

Shortly after the alarms of the city went off, cutting off the screams that rang throughout the city.

The sound of a heavy object slamming on to the ground caused them to turn their attention back on the casing.

The case was opened somehow and a tall man with red glowing eyes stepped out, a large axe strapped to his back.

Mike went pale and slowly backed away, as did a few of the other guards.

Rome didn't know what to do and looked at his superior for orders.

A creepy laugh echoed through the market.

"**This is Six, commence the attack, and send in the next wave of pods." **The man with the large axe ordered in a strange voice, all the while casually walking towards Johnson who was frozen stiff in fear.

Six almost gently grabbed Johnson by the neck and in one squeeze completely crushed his throat.

"Johnson!" a woman screamed before attacking in a moment of blind rage.

"Sandra don't!" the squad leader said but was forced to follow after her, his blade held high above his head.

Rome followed, still scared to death but after seeing Johnson die and Sandra charging straight in he decided he couldn't keep standing there.

Six grabbed his axe and rammed it into Sandra's skull as she swung her own sword, completely oblivious to the wide opening she left for Six.

"No!" another guard shouted and he too attacked the invader head on.

Rome saw his squad leader fall to the ground; a large gash crossed his chest. Seeing how easily Six had taken them down he knew he had to somehow get inside the man's defenses.

He saw the first swing coming and ducked underneath; he saw the second and made a dive for it, landing inside Six's defenses. Wasting not a single moment he tried to ram his short blade between the enemy's ribs.

He never saw the kick coming

Mike who was completely terrified saw Rome flying across the market for several feet before crashing to the ground. "Rome! Say something!"

Suddenly Mike's radio came to life. "To anyone on this frequency, we are under attack! I say again, we are under attack! All guards are report in and ask for assignments!"

Mike reached for his headset, with trembling hands. "This is first year guardian, Mike Ice! We're under attack at the market plaza we need help! We got three casualties so far and we're down to two guards, oh shit he's comi-"He barely was able to dodge out of the way.

Mike stumbled towards Rome who hadn't moved at all. "Come on Rome, please say something!" Mike shouted and shoved Rome, glancing over his shoulder every other second, The Invader slowly walked to him, clearly enjoying himself.

Rome's eyes slowly opened and he saw Mike sigh in relief. "Wha…going…on" He mumbled.

"No time we need to run now! Come on go go go!" Mike shouted and pulled Rome up, who had trouble staying up right.

"First year Guardian Mike Ice, we're sending two squads to your location, hold the market until they're there."

"I c-can't do that, I've got to run, he's coming after me!" He grabbed Rome's arm and threw it over his shoulder, dragging his closest friend away from the freak of nature that was Six.

Mike's eyes widened in fear as he saw more of those pods crashing into the ground, each of them contained one of those monsters.

He looked around and saw civilians all getting slaughtered, never even got the chance to at least try and run.

He felt sick to the stomach when he saw a child no older than 9 lying face down on the ground. He tried to ignore it and half ran, half stumbled into an alley, hoping to get rid of any pursuer that might follow him.

Explosions rumbled nearby and mike with trembling hands put Rome down and looked him over. "A-are you alright, Rome?"

Rome shook his head and immediately regretted it as his headache just doubled. "I'll live…Who's attacking us?"

"I don't know, but we have to get out of here!" Mike hissed in fear as he glanced over his shoulder every so often.

They looked up again when they saw more pods flying overhead.

Rome shook his head and tried to stand up, using his blade as support. "We can't, we made an oath that we'd protect this city until our very last breath."

"But Rome…have you seen how many pods there were? We don't stand a chance"

Rome who had enough of Mike's behavior grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him close. "Now you listen to me! There are innocent men women and children who are counting on us, so get your shit together, guard!"

Mike looked at him with wide eyes before swallowing his fear. "You're right let's do this!"

Rome nodded and managed a broken smile, he slowly stood up and clutched his chest, and his breathing was somewhat shallow and strained.

Mike noticed. "First things first, we're going to check you out first, and no complaints."

"Fine, but If they try and keep me there you can bet your ass I'm breaking out." Rome said with a smirk.

They both jumped up a roof and quickly made their way to the headquarters.

They arrived at the guard station after a while and immediately noticed that there was something wrong. Mike set Rome down and checked the streets before crossing it and pushed the remainder of the door away. "This is Mike Ice, first year guard! Is anyone in here?"

He heard something fall and break on the floor, he immediately grabbed his blade and entered, trying to ignore his trembling hands and the fear that tried to overwhelm him.

He looked and saw that the desk which normally had a young woman sitting behind it was mostly destroyed, blood smeared the wall behind it and he could see an arm sticking out from behind the desk.

He swallowed nervously and took the hallway on his right, guessing that was where the sound originated from. He cautiously looked in every room but found nothing in them. He reached the mess hall and opened the double doors, what met him made him sick to his stomach.

Bodies were everywhere, limbs missing, throats slit or their stomach gutted.

Standing over them where a handful of those invaders, one still held a limp body in his hand.

Mike stood frozen on the spot and let his sword drop, clattering to the ground.

A man turned around and pointed at the young guard. **"Kill him"**

Mike's eyes widened in fear and sprinted out of the mess hall and back to where he came, "Shit, shit, shit!"

"Rome!" he bellowed. "Get your ass moving!" he rammed his shoulder through the ruined double doors that led outside and saw Rome already picking himself up.

Rome reached for his arm pouch and grabbed an exploding tag and plastered it on the wall before half running half limping away from their headquarters.

"To all units, regroup at Thodian square! Heavy concentration of enemy forces -need immediate assistance!" the voice crackled through the radio.

They rounded a corner and quickly ducked in one of the ruined buildings. Whoever these attackers were, they were wreaking havoc at a very fast pace, already were small parts of the city on fire or in ruins.

They saw the unknown invaders running past the building and they sighed in relief.

"Guard! What's going on?!" A man who was hiding with his wife and kid asked while his eyes darted from the left to the right.

Rome stood up, as did Mike. "We don't know, but that doesn't matter, all that matters is that you and your wife and kid need to get out of here. Stick close to us and we'll cover you to the nearest evac point."

The man looked at his wife who nodded. "We will follow you, lead the way"

Rome waved with his hands to follow him and they cautiously looked around the street before running to southern exit.

It wasn't long before they ran into trouble.

They ran around another corner, Mike first and he was first to get hit as well. He got smashed through the window of the wall they were hugging to.

"Out of the way!" Rome shouted as he rolled and landed inside the enemy's defenses, he gave the man a punch in the gut and then swiped his feet from under him, he finished him off with a kick to the man's throat.

"That was easy…" Rome muttered before looking through the broken window. "Mike! Are you okay?"

Mike crawled to the window and managed to stand up. "Ugh, yeah, he caught me off guard that's all."

Rome helped the civilians up and they continued their path, only encountering a few of the weaker invaders.

They reached the evac point without further trouble and saw that it was filled with civilians and guards, what noticed him immediately was that almost all of the guards were first and second year due to their stripes.

He walked over to a fourth year officer. "Sir, can you tell us what's exactly going on?"

The woman who was talking into her mic turned to Rome. "No idea, kid, there was no warning sign or any reports of any kind, they just suddenly crashed with those strange pods of theirs and started killing everybody. We managed to get most civilians out but there are still a lot trapped and the enemy isn't giving us much breathing space, I want you to head back in the city, check the situation at Thorian square, if the situation is dire give the order to retreat to 19th street."

Rome glanced at her nameplate and saw that her name was Samantha Rya. "Understood, sir, you want us to help in their defense as well?"

Samantha nodded. "That's right, but escorting civilians is an absolute priority, if you encounter any lead them here."

"Understood!" Mike said and snapped his feet together before walking off with Rome.

They were about to head back into the city when the man and woman they rescued before approached them; the child was sleeping on a nearby bench.

"Are you going again?" the woman asked.

"We have to ma'am, we wouldn't be much of a guard if we let them get away with this now would we?" Mike said with a smile, clearly enjoying the bit of attention he was getting, even though fear still coursed through his body.

"Take care, and thank you so much for saving our lives!" the man said and fervently shook both their hands.

Rome and Mike gave them both a nod and sprinted back into the chaos filled city.

End flashback 

Rome shook his head, clearing his thoughts away. He had spent too much time pondering the past, at what he could've done better or if he had done something differently…He sighed and laid down on his bed, he had a few hours to spare.

xXx

Ghost walked across the playground of the academy, marching towards the entrance. He glanced to the right and noticed that a couple of adults who were dropping of their children were giving him weary looks. He had to admit that now more than ever he wanted to wear his hood, giving them even more reason to look at him with distrust.

He walked through the small hallway and went straight to the teacher's lounge. He knocked once and opened the door.

"Yo,"He said in a similar way Kakashi often did, he gave a lazy wave when he saw them looking at him. "I'm here to explain to the brats what they're about to face."

"The Hokage sent you?" someone asked in disbelief.

Ghost crossed his arms. "You got a problem with that?"

The chunin teacher swallowed nervously and shook his head.

"Thought so," Ghost turned around and walked back. "What classroom is it?"

"10a" someone answered.

Ghost strode out of the door without bothering to thank the man.

He saw some kids standing in the hall but ignored their looks and made his way to 10a. He remembered that the classroom he was heading to was his old one back before he made Genin.

He rapped with his knuckles on the door before hearing a familiar voice say; "enter."

He opened it and walked through it, stiffening for a moment when he saw Iruka standing there. Though Iruka was the first to ever acknowledge him, he wasn't someone he wanted to see again. He hadn't done a thing to stop the Hokage from trying to place the chakra seal on him.

Iruka looked him over and easily saw the resemblance to the Yondaime, Just like the others said, if the hair was any indication. "You must be Ghost"

Ghost nodded. "That's right, and you must be Iruka" He turned to the kids who were whispering among each other. "Alright listen up, brats. Since all of you are genin graduates I'm here to tell you exactly what you'll be facing. "

He waved with his hands to Iruka, letting him know that the floor was now his. "As you all may know, there's a new threat that has emerged and this time it not only threatens a single country but all of the elemental countries combined."

He looked at the kids who were quietly listening, wearing their newly earned headbands. He nodded to Iruka who pressed a button and lowered the screen above the blackboard.

"This," he grabbed the remote and turned on the screen that showed a picture of a regular Reaver which was taken on the beachhead of Iwa. "Is that threat, they have come from somewhere far from here and started invading every nation they have come across. And now it's our turn."

At this the kids started talking again, some fearful while others were boastful and were saying that they could easily handle it.

"Silence!" Ghost said with a calm voice but still reached their ears. "It's good to be afraid, because you should be! "

"I'm not afraid!" a kid with a smirk on his face said as he stood up, slamming his hand on the table.

Ghost raised an eyebrow and glanced at Iruka who just face palmed. "You're not afraid?"

The boy shook his head, crossing his arms defiantly.

Ghost slowly walked to him, his lower part of his tunic or better known as the eagle's wings, emphasized on the movement of his legs. The silence made his footsteps seem all the more intimidating. He stopped in front of the boy and crouched down, "Not afraid?" he said as he looked into the eyes of the twelve year old.

The boy shook his head but was more hesitant then before, he had dropped his arms at his side again.

Ghost pressed a button on the small remote and another picture appeared.

The kids gasped and some let out a scream, while others put their hands in front of their eyes, some even threw up.

The picture showed of three Reavers massacring a few samurai, their throats being slit or their limbs, heads or their intestines lay on the ground. One of the Reavers looked into the photo camera, making it seem that the Reaver was looking straight at the classroom with his glowing red eyes, holding up a mutilated body of a samurai while doing so.

The boy, his eyes wide in fear while looking very pale slowly sat down again.

Ghost nodded. "That's what I thought, now If Iruka would be so 'kind' to arrange for a cleanup lady we can continue this after a break," He clasped his hands together, which seemed out of place when he did that, "who's up for lunch?"

xXx

Itachi was surprised by the fact that the Reavers hadn't attacked yet, the last reports were that they were advancing on their location but then they suddenly stopped. Maybe they were rethinking their plan or they were waiting on a larger force. The Uchiha jumped out of the trench and made his way to the command tent.

Kakashi who was talking Shikamaru with looked up. "What can we help you with?"

"For the time being you won't need my help so I'm returning to Konoha" Itachi told him

Kakashi who couldn't stand the guy for what he did in the past, merely nodded.

Itachi turned around and left but almost ran into Konan. "Konan, what are you doing here?"

"Our Leader wants an update and since long range communication are still being established we had to send a runner, and I volunteered." She said as she looked him over, noting slight exhaustion even though he would never admit it.

Itachi started walking again past the tents and followed the trench which stretched very far. "Reavers have halted all movements for the time being, we have no idea why, but they don't stop a force that size without having something planned."

Konan gave a nod. "Alright then, I'll ask the strategic analyst for a more detailed report, but I suggest you head back to Konoha, you could use some rest."

Itachi gave a small smile. "Arigato, Konan…"

Konan turned around and headed back to where they came from, a small smile of her own formed on her lips.

Itachi turned his gaze towards the west, to where Konoha was. _'I could use a break' _He started to follow the road on a steady pace, not bothering to hurry.

* * *

><p>And that's that! Next chapter features the Kage summit and an 'old friend'. Also Apologies for any mistakes i might've made, give me the heads up when you notice something!<p>

I hope you like the chapter, if you did please leave a review or if you have suggestions and or critiscm please leave a review as well :D

Before anyone says about a pairing between Anko and Naruto…aint going to happen, this was just a bit of fun.

Until next time…weeeeeeee!


	17. Chapter 17: The Summit

Hello once again! I give to you chapter 17!

I'll cut to the chase and give it to ya, but first let me respond to a few reviewers.

Igor De souza Santos. Thank you once again :D keep em coming!

Sugarismylife: I could've sworn I've send you a response, ah well! Who doesn't like badass Naruto? I wonder what the anime/manga would be like if he had Ghost's personality? Ah also…be prepared for more playing cards and other ridiculous crap from time to time Ps: here's some sugar!

Trak The Cat: Also could've sworn I replied^^. Sorry about the last chapter and I'm quite sure you'll feel the same way about this chapter as well, since it's kind of rushed, so sorry in advance! I'll make it up to you in the next chapter.

Lman3: if you're the guest than thanks for the response :D and I'll think about your offer!

Evil-pain: You'll find out the next chapter! The poll will end then. Also Thanks for the compliment :D yay! :P

Onbu: And I just wanted to say, love the review!

Iluvninjas: you'll find out this chapter!

Wolf West: here it is! And unfortunately not really up to par with the previous ones but I'll make it up to you!

Miss Elizabehh: I do remember responding to you (also my outbox cleared it up for me:P) so…bla!

Cariangelus: Thanks for the vote! You'll know it the next chapter!

If I forgot anyone I'm sorry!

As I said to the reviewers, this chapter was kind of hard to write for me, I dunno why it just sucked…nah no bullshit writer's block everyone uses as a pathetic excuse. (Always burst out laughing when I see a ridiculous awesome story that ends up with the line: sorry everyone but the next chapter will take longer than usual bla bla bla because of writers block…and you never see how the story actually ends.)

Also Killer Bee will also make an appearance of course so if anyone has experience writing him, please contact me because I have no idea how to write his rhymes an crap :P.

Next chapter will be extra-long to make up for this one and a lot sooner as well!

The poll ends when chapter 18 will be uploaded, so make sure you voted before then!

Special thanks to the reviewers and people who took time to vote! Also everyone who favorited etc you guys/gals are greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 17**

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><p>~Chapter 17 – The summit~<p>

Sabaku no Gaara had a slow day; his brother and sister were preparing everything for their short journey to the Kage Summit in Tetsu no Kuni. Having finished his most deadly enemy; paperwork he had earned himself a small break.

He stood up and walked over to the balcony behind his desk. It wasn't long ago that someone from the Akatsuki had come to him and warned him about some impending invasion that was about to start at Iwa.

Gaara leaned over the railing of the balcony and closed his eyes when a soft breeze hit his face. He hadn't believed a word they said, but something changed his mind and he told them that even though he wouldn't send any men, he would reinforce the borders.

Some had questioned him about it but after reminding them who the Kazekage was they had quieted down fast enough. But the resources he had to put in reinforcing his borders were more than worth it if it meant he could prevent an attack.

"Gaara?"

He turned around and saw his sister standing, She had changed quite a bit, she used to always have that negative look on her face, but that had changed into a kind one, making her even more beautiful than she already was. She used to have four ponytails but last year for a change and decided on curly hair

"Are we ready to leave?" he asked his sister.

She looked him over. "We're just waiting for you." Gaara hadn't changed much, his physique hadn't changed all that much, he only grew in length and his hair he had let grow a bit as well. He used to have a permanent angry look but that had turned to a neutral look of indifference.

"I'll be right there give me a moment."

xXx

Tsunade and Shizune stood in front of the gate, with them were Micheru, Mayu and Rome.

Hawke and Ghost who had finished instructing the shinobi of Konoha stood there as well. "When will you be back?" Hawke asked.

"Not sure, it'll take a few days to get there, a day or two at the summit and a few days for the trip back so at least a week."

"We'll hold the fort while you're gone."

"Take care," Ghost said with a nod towards his three fellow hunters, bluntly ignoring the Konoha shinobi.

The group turned around and headed out the gates, wondering what the Kage summit would bring.

Ghost turned to Hawke while they were walking to their headquarters. "So what do you think the summit will deliver? Will we all work together or will we all die alone?"

Hawke looked at him and then they both simultaneously said, "Yup, die alone."

They chuckled and headed for the training ground.

xXx

Couple of days later.

Moderator, Mifune stood in front of the pyramid shaped building where the meeting was being held, flanked by two samurai. He still couldn't believe that all across the Shinobi nation battles were taking place. When Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha told him that she wanted to have a Kage summit held as soon as possible it had raised many questions. But when reports had coming in that Tsuchi No Kuni was being invaded and that Nami No Kuni was facing a similar fate shook him up pretty well.

Despite the heavy blizzard that took place he still managed to noticed a tall broad man flanked accompanied by two others walking towards him.

When the man stopped in front of him Mifune gave him a bow. "Raikage-sama, glad you could make it."

The Raikage gave him a nod in return. "Have the other arrived yet or am I the first."

"The others have already arrived. We are just waiting for the Hokage." He answered respectfully.

A. Just shook his head. "Figures...the one who requested the summit ends up being the one who ends up late."

"Always the impatient one I see." a voice said.

A. turned around and saw Tsunade walking over, accompanied by a small group.

Recognizing the outfits they wore A. and his guards, Darui and C. slowly readied themselves into a combat stance.

"Tsunade! What is this!" A. roared as he pointed at the Hunters.

Tsunade held up a hand motioning for him to calm down. "They may have done some things in the past but they are our allies now."

The Raikage looked at her with distrust. "I don't trust them, and you tell me I have to just take your word for it?"

"They have helped us out a great amount; they gave us information on the Tsuchi and Nami invasion. If it weren't for them there wouldn't be any survivors from Nami No Kuni."

"I don't care; one of those criminals killed four of my shinobi!"

Rome stepped forward. "Raikage-sama, I deeply apologize for the actions one of my men had to take, it was necessary to stop the Reaver."

The Raikage snarled. "I don't see how killing four men was necessary!"

Mifune decided to step in. "Enough, get inside we'll discuss this with the others at the meeting."

The Raikage was about to show him a piece of his mind but decided against it, instead he nodded went inside, out of the cold.

Micheru entered the meeting room. She wouldn't have ever thought that she'd end up meeting the most powerful shinobi that currently existed.

She instantly noticed a redheaded young man who couldn't be any older than her sitting at the large table, she immediately recognized him as the Kazekage.

Gaara noticed her looking and looked her over; he narrowed his eyes when he saw that she was wearing the same outfit he saw in Suna many weeks ago. Even though they didn't attack his men and women they were on some degree, responsible for their deaths.

Micheru suppressed a sigh, it seemed like everywhere they went they were. The same angered look or a look of utter disgust. _'Come's with the job…doesn't mean I like it.'_

"What are they doing here?!" someone shouted.

Mayu rubbed her face and Rome just closed his eyes in annoyance. _'This is becoming quite annoying…'_

"Is this going to be a problem?" Micheru whispered in her mother's ear.

Tsunade started to think that taking them along was becoming a mistake. She heard Micheru and couldn't help thinking the exact same thing.

xXx

Itachi walked through the gates of Konoha and noticed that the guards on the wall were doubled. When he arrived at the headquarters he immediately went for Tactical Planning, the room where they received the latest intel, on their enemy's movement. This room was also linked with Anbu headquarters and the Hokage tower

He knocked and opened the door.

Pein who was about to leave turned to Itachi instead. "Itachi, weren't you supposed to be at the border?"

"I was never ordered to, I volunteered to stay there." Itachi pointed out.

Pein sat down on one of the chairs. "I have some new orders for you."

Itachi who was just about to leave turned his attention back onto the leader of the Akatsuki. "What is it?"

"I want you to supervise the training of the Shinobi Konoha has, Jonin and Anbu only."

If Itachi was angry he didn't show instead he nodded and left. He decided to look for Ghost and Kisame.

It didn't take him long to find Ghost.

Ghost who supported Hawke brought him inside the hall and set him down on the chair beside the door.

"What happened to him?" Itachi asked as he approached the two men.

Ghost looked up, mildly surprised to see Itachi standing there. "A spar that got a little out of hand. Where have you been?"

Itachi shrugged. "I've been at the outpost most of the time."

Ghost gave a questioning look. "Then why are you here? They probably could use your help."

Itachi shook his head. "They aren't attacking."

Ghost grunted. "Not attacking? Can you be more specific? You're not really helping here, Itachi"

"What I mean is, they are right on our border but have somehow without explanation stopped their advances."

"They're up to something; they don't stop their slaughter for nothing." Hawke said as he rubbed his chin, letting out a groan when he tried to move his wounded leg."

Ghost rolled his eyes and turned to Hawke, "No shit, wow, I'm really glad we have you to point out these things, no really," he crouched down in front of Hawke and placed his hands on the man's shoulder. "I mean where do you come up with these intelligent remarks of yours?"

"Screw you, Ghost."

Ghost smirked. And stood back up, "orders?" he asked Itachi.

"I'm _'ordered' _to improve the combat skills of the Jonin and Anbu here in Konoha." Itachi said with a barely noticeable bitter tone.

Hawke burst out in laughter while Ghost smothered his laugh with a cough.

Ghost walked to the door and opened it, "Well good luck with that."

"I could use some help." Itachi said to Ghost's retreating back.

"Nice try, Itachi, go ask Kisame" Ghost answered and with a wave of his hand he left.

Itachi turned to Hawke, who in return only shook his head and slowly stood up, and limped away, Itachi sighed at this and sat down.

xXx

"So if what you're saying is true," the Mizukage said with a disbelieving tone. "Then they have an army that's larger than all of our forces combined."

Rome nodded. "That's exactly true."

Raikage stood up, fuming. "Bullshit! We have the largest military force known to man!"

At this point the Tsuchikage stood up; his left eye was covered in bandage and had a large scar on his forehead. "In case you didn't notice, they took Iwa in a matter of days, _days! _ I had 12.000 Shinobi now I only have 1100 left, you starting to see the picture?"

The Raikage however angry as he was bit his tongue for a moment. "Then what do you propose?"

Tsunade spoke up. "If we want to stand a small chance then we need to combine our forces, the longer we wait with this the more nations will fall."

"I agree with the Hokage." The old Tsuchikage said and gave a nod towards Tsunade.

Mifune spoke up as well. "My samurai already fought with some of your men at Nami No Kuni and we'll do so as well."

"Suna will join as well, but I won't forgive for what you have done, Tsunade."

Tsunade pursed her lips together and nodded, she knew he was referring to Naruto because Naruto and Gaara had bonded through a way no one could ever understand. They both knew the pain of loneliness, the pain of being a Jinchuuriki. She still had to break the bad news to him, but that would come in due time when all this was settled.

The Raikage slammed his fist into the table, startling everyone causing the guards to jump in front of their respective Kages. "I refuse to join a group of people who work together with not only these so called Hunters but also with the Akatsuki! Kumo will not stand with you against the Reavers!"

"Be reasonable Raikage-sama if you don't you won't survive the slaughter that is to come!" Rome shouted.

A. pointed his finger threateningly at Rome. "You count yourself lucky that I haven't killed you yet!"

Rome who was a patient man was starting to boil on the inside; he stood up as well and mimicked the Raikage's by pointing his finger at him. "You may be the Raikage, but that doesn't mean you can just make threats! Watch your mouth or I'll help you with shutting it!"

The Raikage abruptly stood up, his chair bounced off the ground. "I've had it with you and your pitiful group of Hunters! You're nothing more than a bunch of murderers, filthy dogs who should be put down." Raikage shouted in pure anger. He had it with them, the Hunters were getting away with murder just because of an impending doom that might or might not happen.

"A. calm down!" Tsunade intervened.

"Keep talking like that and I'll remind just why we're regarded as S rank criminals." Rome threateningly hissed.

Before the Raikage could respond, Mifune intervened. "Enough both of you, if you can't stand each other than we'll find a way so that we can still benefit from each other.

"That won't be necessary, because Kumo won't join." Raikage said between gritted teeth, he turned towards the door and left but not before punching the door off its hinges, closely followed by his guards.

"What now? Kumo has beside Konoha the largest military force; we can't do it without them." Micheru asked her mother.

Mayu pondered her thoughts while Rome looked at the door the Raikage went through.

Mifune was the one who eventually responded. "We'll have to make do without them.

"So…what now? Shizune asked her leader.

"Now the respective Kages will return to their villages and start preparing for a full scale invasion and preperations for necessary counterattacks. Since Konoha has the enemy on their doorstep we'll assist them in any way we can. "Mifune announced while looking at the Tsunade.

Tsunade offered a smile and nodded. "That's much appreciated, I will send you all a full report of the exact amount of shinobi I have and the weapons we have in the armory."

"That's something everyone should do." Mifune said.

"Not so fast," Ōnoki barked. "What about my village, when will the attempt be made to retake it?"

"At the moment, we have to focus on defending the regions we still have, only when we pushed them back can we focus on retaking Iwa and Nami No Kuni." Rome said.

Onoki looked at him with narrowed eyes, before nodding in defeat. "I understand, my shinobi are scattered throughout Taki and Tsuchi No Kuni, those who are still in Tsuchi are ordered to fight as guerillas."

"The Akatsuki have a few members there as well so stalling the enemy is the best thing we can do right now." Mayu advised.

"Who's going to be the Supreme leader?" Rome asked.

"That should be Mifune." Gaara asked, surprising a few since he was quiet most of the meeting.

The Mizukage nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan to me."

"If everyone thinks the same than that's decided. I also want the best strategic analysts on a safe location which will be our headquarters. Also, the headquarters should be only known to the Kages, Hunters and the Akatsuki."

"The headquarters should be placed where an invasion is the least likely to happen." Mayu added.

In Ame?" Micheru asked aloud.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea; I will talk with Pein about this first, since he's the leader of the village."

Gaara had a quizzical look. "Pein?"

"That's the leader of the Akatsuki…" Tsunade said.

"That changes things; I don't want my strategists anywhere near that man."

Mayu rubbed her forehead. "Whether you like it or not you're going to work with him so you best get used to it."

"I'm not sending him alone, I'll agree if I'm allowed to accompany him with guards."

Mayu shrugged and looked at Mifune.

"I guess that isn't too much to ask." Mifune answered.

"Then this meeting is hereby adjourned," Mifune stated and motioned for the others to stand up. "I hope that everyone has a safe journey home and we'll hear from each other soon." He gave a small bow.

Tsunade and the others returned the gesture and one by one they left the room.

Micheru turned to her mother. "You think we can win this without Kumo's assistance?" she softly said.

Mayu merely smiled which eased the young blonde's worries a bit.

When they were back outside Tsunade spoke up. "Shizune ask for a messenger bird."

"Of course, what should be in the message?" she asked.

"I want Kakashi, Sasuke, all Hunters and Akatsuki members and Konoha 10 back in Konoha"

Shizune still felt strange about the unofficial group name that was used for the special group of Jonin. "Right away" she turned to her right and headed for the aviary.

Once Shizune came back they headed out.

xXx

Couple of days later, Konoha

Ghost walked through the streets alone when he noticed a stand which he hadn´t visited in a long time.

A smile tugged at his lips when he thought back to the days where the only thing he ate was Ramen. Deciding one bite wouldn´t do him much bad he entered the stand by pushing the flaps aside.

"Good afternoon! What can I help you with?" an attractive woman he instantly recognized as Ayame greeted.

"Hi there, can I have one miso ramen please." Ghost asked as he sat down.

"Coming right up!" Ayame said with a smile and turned her back to him.

"Is it always this quiet here?" The blonde hunter asked.

"It depends on the day I guess, and whether or not a lot of the shinobi are out on assignment," She said as she prepared the ramen. "Aren't you one of those Hunters?"

Ghost nodded. "Is that a problem?"

"Not really, from what I've heard, you people saved our village and are helping protect it," Ayame frowned. "I can't say I'm overly happy with the attack that took place at the Hokage tower a couple of weeks ago." She placed the bowl in front of him and leaned on the counter.

Ghost smiled. "Yeah but she had it coming, all we wanted was a peaceful conversation."

"What's your name? " Ayame suddenly asked.

"Ghost, you mind telling me yours?" Ghost asked, already knowing her name.

"Ayame, but if your name's Ghost then you must've known Naruto! At least that's what everyone is saying!"

Ghost grunted. "Not really only met him on the final hours of his life."

Ayame's smile disappeared as fast as it came. "I heard about that…At least he tried to make the world a better place."

Ghost felt sorry for her, and had to steel his emotions. "He did…He went out with a bang." Ghost let out a soft chuckle.

"I miss him…" she sadly said.

Ghost reached for her hand and softly squeezed it. "He wouldn't want you to be sad, he'd want for you to live a happy live."

Ayame wiped the tears that made their way down her face away, she squeezed back and then gently let go. "Don't mind me; you should eat your ramen before it gets cold.

Ghost focused his attention on his ramen. At moments like these he hated leaving the people behind that did actually care about him, and Ayame was definitely among the few.

xXx

Tsunade and her entourage sighed in relief; they were finally reaching their borders. It had taken them two days getting back and the blizzard they had on the way back were slowing them down.

She hoped that the defenses at the border of Nami No Kuni were still holding. She rubbed her face with both her hands.

"Tsunade, Tsunade, I see you haven't changed a bit."

Tsunade jerked her head towards the voice, and what she saw made her blood boil in anger."You!"

Her old teammate, Orochimaru stood there in the flesh, looking exactly the same, and she knew exactly why. '_His immortality juts'_

"Orochimaru!" She growled and she balled her hands into fists. "What are you doing here?!"

He held his hands up, "Now…now, don't be hasty. I am here extending the hand of peace." He said with a smile that made him look even more like a snake.

Shizune snorted and readied herself into a stance. "You and peace don't coincide with each other, you snake!"

Orochimaru merely glanced at her before looking at the others, his eyes widened briefly when he noticed the Hunters. "I see that you've also allied yourself with a rogue shinobi organization. And is it true that also the Akatsuki joined in as well?"

Tsunade nodded.

"How interesting!" he chuckled. "Tsunade, I am here with the same purpose. The Reavers are too strong for me and even if it's too despicable to even think of joining Konoha it is still necessary."

Tsunade stayed silent, as did the Hunters, knowing that it was not their business.

Shizune however stepped forward. "Lady Tsunade! That man is nothing but a mass murderer! Please don't consider this!"

"Shizune, we tried to do this the last time and that ended badly. At this point with Kumo refusing to join we need all the help we can get. Orochimaru, get your guards; we'll discuss this in Konoha. But if you try anything…" she raised her fist threateningly.

Orochimaru chuckled again. "I guess my guards weren't that well hidden." He motioned and his guards appeared.

Tsunade sincerely hoped that she wasn't making a mistake.

* * *

><p>And that's chapter 17! Sorry it was short but sometimes you get to a point in a chapter where you feel the right time to end it there.<p>

Once again sorry if people don't like this chapter, I wasn't really happy with this chapter because it was hard to write someone's personality when you don't really know how the act if they are seven years from the anime. (or four depends on shippuden etc.) I tried to make Gaara's demeanor as close to shippuden as possible, and I hope I succeeded in that, even though I only showed a brief glimpse.

Anyways, have a good one and don't forget to review if you get the chance!


	18. Chapter 18: Ghost?

Heyas everyone, here's chapter 18 and I think you guys/gals will enjoy this one.

As promised I made this one longer because of the previous chapter.

As some may have noticed I've started another story in the Halo/ME universe, be warned Halo 4 spoilers are included.

Reviews:

Iluvninjas: I know isn't that fun?

Lman: That's alright if there isn't a Beta to read it over I can post chapters more frequently ;) and in my opinion everyone deserves a thank you when they took the time review, and not just a simple "thanks"

Roboguy45: Is that so hmmm?

Myrddin767: Kukukuku enjoy!

Shika the Brain: I try to keep the Oc's as few as possible. As for the pairing because the poll is even at the moment I'll keep it online for one more chapters.

Scman87: Of course I'll explain the background of the Reavers but it will have to wait till later ;) as for Orochimaru, you'll find that out this chapter.

Ps: I'm a bastard I know! And yes Anko will have her moments.

Dimensiontimetraveler: I love how everyone has different thoughts on what Orochimaru's planning.

KCWolfman: they will get what they deserve soon enough, just not in the extreme way most people want:P

Pmiranda13: major battles are being written as we speak. As for Naruto's identity…It will be revealed and soon!

Bethlovesall: I'm glad you like it :) here's the next one and I think you'll like this one!

Trigun: Yeah at the moment there isn't rift between the three factions but that could change at any moment ;)

Chapter 17 was just a toughy to write so that why it's a bit rushed. As for Orochimaru….just wait and see uhm read.

Mirgageking: thanks for the review ;) as for Orochimaru, read respone above ;)

Trak The Cat: Glad you enjoyed that, I always liked Ayame and she doesn't get enough screen time :P

Danger-A: It really depends, for example next chapter will take a bit longer because I'm lazy. Nah seriously I'm swamped with stuff.

Sukhoi: more Awesomeness incoming!

Darkwolf991: so you want Konoha to live?

Lot of reviews last chapter which is much appreciated!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 17**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 18 - Ghost?~<p>

It didn't take them long to reach Konoha, the uncomfortable tense situation that roamed in the group didn't make it any easier though.

Rome had heard quite a bit about Orochimaru so during the whole trip back he was standing ready for anything.

Orochimaru for his part tried to lighten the mood in his creepy way but only made the group more irritated.

The guards at the gates had the gates already opened but opened their eyes wide when they found out that the Hokage was accompanied by none other than Orochimaru.

"L-lady Hokage?" the chunin guard stuttered.

"It's okay, he's harmless…whatever that's worth in his case. "She muttered and glanced at her old teammate.

"Understood, Lady Hokage" He bowed and motioned for them to walk through the gate.

"Nothing has changed I see, I don't know if that's a good thing" Orochimaru scratched his cheek and followed Tsunade.

The moment they stepped through the gate several things happened at once.

xXx

Ghost who was still sitting in the ramen stand enjoying his third bowl of ramen hesitated before continuing eating.

Ayame however still noticed it. Is something wrong with the ramen?"

Ghost looked over his shoulder his eyes darted from the left to the right. He focused attention on Ayame and smiled. "Do you trust me?"

"Haven't known you really long enough to trust you completely but…sure I trust you"

"Can't say I blame you, anyways, when I place my chopsticks beside my bowl, could you leave the stand for a bit?"

Ayame looked at him with a questioning look. "I guess so…but why?"

Ghost smirked. "You'll know soon enough, he then continued eating. While eating he reached for his pocket and grabbed his headset, putting it around his ear and placed the microphone in front of his mouth. "Itachi?"

There was a moment of silence. "What is it, Ghost?"

"Stand by for the sound." Ghost said in a relaxed tone while he continued slurping his most favorite food.

"Understood" Itachi replied.

Seconds later a man dressed in dark red robes stepped in, he had an intimidating scar on his left cheek.

Ayame walked over. "Good afternoon! How can I help you?"

The man sat down beside Ghost. "One Shio ramen please."

"Coming up!"

Ghost turned to the newcomer. "New to Konoha?"

The man turned to Ghost as well. "I am, just here to rest up, do some sightseeing as well."

Ghost looked him over. "Right, well I hope you enjoy your stay here…sorry what was your name again?"

The man let out a fake chuckle noticing that the man next to him was subtly checking him out. "Never told my name, but my name's Lasting, mind telling me your name?"

"The name's Ghost." Ghost replied with a neutral nod.

"That's an unusual name…"

Ghost laughed. "Yeah…well comes with the job."

xXx

Itachi walked to Kisame's room. He knocked and opened it. "Kisame."

Kisame who was just putting his infamous robe back on turned around. "What is it?"

"Grab Samehada, we got trouble."

"About time, the battle at Nami is already so far back in my mind that my hands are starting to itch."

"Well if Ghost's right then you will have your fight soon enough." Itachi replied.

Kisame strapped his massive sword to his back and followed Itachi out of the door.

Pein walked across the street, heading for the Hokage tower, apparently the Hokage was back and she had urgent news.

Thanks to his Six Paths he already knew what was going to happen. "Come out now."

A man dressed in dark blue dropped in front of him **"You have a good awareness of your surroundings."**

"You're just pathetic."

"**We'll see about that." **The man responded,

"Tell the second one to come out." Pein said in his ever so neutral voice.

The man chuckled in response and motioned with his hand, a woman dropped next to him.

"**He's good." **She said.

Her companion nodded and cracked his knuckles, trying to intimidate his opponent.

Before someone could make the first move five more figures landed on the ground, surrounding the two invaders.

"**More Akatsuki agents?"**

Pein's gaze never wavered. "Something like that."

The five newcomers all had piercings on their face and had the exact same ripples in their eyes.

"**We have no intel on them" **The woman said to her comrade.

"No one has" Pein answered for her and with that all Six Paths of Pein attacked.

xXx

Robatsu and Hawke were in the store when they noticed someone walking up from behind them

They turned around and were surprised to see three holders standing in front of them with their red glowing eyes.

"Well! Shopping just got a lot more interesting," Hawke chuckled and placed the box with cigars back on the counter. He turned to the store clerk. "Beautiful, could you be so kind and step out for a moment?"

"Why?" she asked feeling a bit flattered, not really paying attention to the newcomers.

"That's because if you don't you'll get blown up as well."

"Blown up as well?" It was then that she noticed the Reavers standing in her store. She wasn't by any means experienced with a Reaver, but when two broad men with red glowing eyes and horrifying left claws entered the store she knew better than to stay inside. She quickly entered the back of the store and went outside from there.

"Robatsu, you take the left I'll take the right okay?" Hawke said with a wide smile on his face.

"Sounds good to me" Robatsu answered and reached for his pouch on his back.

"May the best man win!" Hawke jokingly shouted before charging his opponent.

xXx

Ghost knew for certain that this man was without a doubt a Reaver, but what was more was that he possessed demonic chakra, but didn't use it like a holder did. Ghost smiled. _'He uses the chakra as a trigger, like me…but how can he do that?'_

"Is something on your mind?" Lasting asked.

Ayame had been listening to the conversation and looked at Ghost who saw her looking; he looked her in the eyes and then gently placed his chopsticks beside his now empty bowl.

She turned around and pushed the flaps aside that led to the back.

"It's nothing was just reminiscing." He reached inside his robe pretending to grab some money, all the while hiding a kunai inside his sleeve. He then threw some money on the counter, but while he was throwing the money he also slid the kunai in his hand.

In one fluid motion he tried to stab the man beside him in the chest. Only to find his attack blocked.

"Nice try, Ghost but you really should try harder."

Ghost smirked and propped his feet up against the counter, he pushed himself off sending them both to the ground.

Lasting in turn balled his fist and tried to punch him. Ghost bent back and countered with a Rasengan  
>which he held in his free hand.<p>

The moment he tried to hit him he no longer felt the grip on his arm. Instead of hitting Lasting with his Rasengan he hit the ground.

Ghost sensed the demonic chakra and used flashstep and appeared beside the Reaver on the roof of one of the buildings. Trying once again he charged up a Rasengan and aimed for the Reaver's stomach.

"You should really try some other tricks, Ghost."

Before Ghost could move out of the way Lasting slammed his shoulder into his back making him fall to the ground below.

He slowly stood up and noticed that he wasn't the only one fighting; he could hear sounds of battle all around the village. "An invasion? No, you wouldn't break through so quickly."

"We found a different way of entering without attracting unnecessary attention." Lasting said as he appeared in front of Ghost. He reached inside his robe and pulled out a file. "Ghost; appearance, unknown, weapon of favor, unknown, threat level: Red borderline black, handle with extreme care," He snapped the file shut. "You've failed to impress me so far, why they gave you such a high threat level is beyond me."

Ghost smirked. "Only red huh? I guess we should change that."

Lasting shook his head. "You fail to **realize that you absolutely no chance of winning."**

"Ah and there is the demonic chakra." Ghost said as he noticed the voice changing as well as the arm and eyes changing their form.

Weaving through hand signs Ghost placed his hand at his mouth. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

A fireball quickly roared towards Lasting, who in turn was unimpressed, he used a single flashstep to avoid the attack.

"Thought so…" Ghost said who appeared next to Lasting, elbowing him in the face; he tried to follow up with a punch but was blocked by Lasting's claw.

Ignoring the heat that was scorning the skin on his hand he tried to knee the man in the stomach which was dodged.

Ghost let out a hiss of pain when he suddenly noticed a small gash on his leg. "You're fast."

"**And you're not."** Lasting replied before aiming his unsheathed blade at Ghost's shoulder

Ghost dodged and tried to counter with his own blade only to hit thin air. Knowing he just left himself wide open for a counter he quickly used flashstep and appeared on the roof of one of the stores.

It was then his whole world exploded.

xXx

Itachi blocked the blow and retaliated with a punch of his own.

The Reaver grunted and jumped back and formed a few handsigns. "Doton: Dosekiryū!" a dragon burst from the ground and charged Itachi head on.

Itachi who didn't have the time to avoid used Kawarimi to get out of harm's way. Before his feet touched the ground he already had a handful of shuriken in both hands, he threw them all at once and while his opponent was occupied with dodging the attack he already used shun shin and appeared next to the reaver his hand already in front of his mouth. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The Reaver could only widen his eyes before the ball of flame hit him at point blank range.

Itachi panted slightly. His opponent was brutal, he didn't give him much breathing space. Itachi's only choice was picking up the pace. He knew he had a trump card, his Mangekyo Sharingan. But it comes with a high price, one he didn't want to pay unless it was absolutely necessary.

He turned around but stopped half way when he heard a soft cough.

"**Where do you think you're going? I'll cut you open like a pig, you weird eyed mother fucker!" **The Holder screamed while his right eye twitched every few seconds.

Itachi sighed. _'Why do always get the weird ones?' _Itachi turned back to his opponent ignoring the remark about his sharingan. "You're an unusual one."

The holder screamed and used flashstep to get inside Itachi's guard.

Itachi in turn held up his arms and blocked the first two blows; he countered with a high kick to the Reaver's face and followed up with tree quick punches.

Itachi jumped back to avoid the wild slash from the Reaver's claw that was aimed at his stomach, instead of cutting him wide open he got two long but shallow cuts on his abdomen.

Itachi suppressed a grunt and instead grabbed the man's still outstretched arm and gave it a sharp twist, breaking it.

The demon carrier screamed out in pain and pulled his arm free and tried to punch Itachi with his only free hand.

Itachi twirled around it and while he did that he grabbed the other arm as well and pulled him close. He then with the grace only an Uchiha could perform gave him a knee to the face.

Before the Reaver even had a chance to retaliate Itachi grabbed his other arm again, the one his opponent desperately tried to keep out of his reach. Itachi pulled him down and gave him another knee, releasing his arms. Before Itachi let his opponent drop to the ground he grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him back up. "Where do you think you're going?" Itachi mocked him.

Itachi didn't let him speak and instead grabbed his head with both hands and gave it a twist, killing him instantly.

Itachi leaned against the wall and slumped to the ground; he looked down at his stomach and winced. The cuts were deeper than he originally thought. It may not have been deadly, it still bled like hell.

He looked back up when he heard an explosion not too far from him. Itachi thought about helping out but decided against it. _'I'll stay here for a short while. I'm sure they can handle them without my help.'_

xXx

Tsunade, Orochimaru, Rome, Mayu and Micheru walked towards the gate that led to the Hokage tower.

Tsunade looked at Orochimaru. "What are you smirking about?" noticing the smirk just now.

"You really should play nice, Tsunade it's unbecoming of someone like you."

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted who came to a skidding halt in front of the small group. "Have you completely lost it?!"

"No is not the time for petty arguments of the past, Jiraiya! We have to bury the hatchet." Tsunade managed to say between gritted teeth.

"Have you learned nothing of him?! He will rather watch the whole world come to an end rather than join up with us!" Jiraiya roared in anger.

"You think this isn't hard on me?! I'm forgiving the man not only for his actions in the past but also for killing Naruto!"

The Hunters looked at each other with raised eyebrows but decided to swallow their questions for the time being.

Orochimaru however was the most surprised. "Naruto-kun? When di-" a large explosion cut of any words he might've said.

"What the!" Rome shouted.

"You see! It was only a matter of time!" Jiraiya said and pointed accusingly at Orochimaru

"Kukukuku, Jiraiya is right Tsunade you should've never trusted me," he motioned for his guards who ripped their fake outfits off, revealing their true Reaver colors. "Do with them with what you will, but I want Itachi alive, he'll pay for interfering with my plans."

"**Understood" **one of the Reavers said before dispersing.

Rome jumped after one of them while Mayu settled into a stance, only to be stopped by Jiraiya. "Orochimaru is mine; you go help your friends."

"Alright, Micheru we'll focus on helping the wounded." Mayu ordered and steered Micheru away from the fight.

An explosion shook the earth and suddenly a couple of bodies dropped in front of them, followed by two Reavers and Hawke and Robatsu who were exchanging blows.

Tsunade in the meantime masked her shock with a scowl and summoned one of the Anbu and started relaying orders. "I want all Shinobi in the village on alert, lock down the gates and don't let anyone through! If any of the Reavers are too tough I want them to be left alone, let the Akatsuki and Hunters handle them for the time being."

"Understood, Hokage-sama" and with that he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Xx

Ghost groaned and stood up; he spat out some blood and looked around. The building he stood upon was mostly destroyed; he could see a few bodies lying around. _'The Hokage should evacuate the civilians…'_

"**When are you going to fight seriously Ghost? Isn't the sight of innocent people lying dead on the ground enough to make you angry?"**

Ghost started with a chuckle but grew to demonical laughter, **"I couldn't care less about these fools, in fact why not blow that building up right there?" **he pointed with his claw towards a random building. **"You see, I don't have to worry about some innocent civilians getting in my way because I don't care whether they live or die, my only purpose here is to stop the Reaver threat, and that-"** he appeared beside him and gave him a mind numbing blow. **"Includes you"**

Lasting shook his head and unsheathed his blade, his eyes widened in surprise. **"You have quite a few tricks up your sleeve, Ghost! This changes things, my leader must learn of this development." **And with that Lasting charged the Demon Hunter.

Ghost grabbed his katana and met his opponent head on. Sparks exploded from the two blades when they made contact with one another.

They continued like this for a couple of minutes, slowly they reached the main road where Pein was fighting.

Ghost back flipped and landed a few feet away from Pein. Turning to his former enemy he noticed that he was handling his two opponents without too much trouble, but what surprised him the most were the five Akatsuki agents who we're looking very much like him. They were fighting in complete unison with each other.

Pein jumped back and saw Ghost. "This attack started the moment the Hokage came back, she is related to the attack, find her and find it out."

"**I can't do that yet, I've got an opponent of my own who won't just let me leave." **Ghost responded, panting slightly.

"I'll handle him as well." And while Pein said that one of the Paths disconnected from the fight and charged at Lasting.

Ghost nodded and sprinted towards the Hokage tower, presuming that she was there.

"**We're not done yet!" **Lasting shouted and tried to follow him but was blocked by a new adversary.

"You're not going anywhere. "Pein stated, being as cold blooded as he ever was.

Ghost sprinted, ignoring the throbbing pain in his leg, he looked up and saw that several explosions took place at the Hokage tower and assumed that that was the Hokage's doing. He jumped to a roof and then jumped on top of a particular large building.

He noticed Lasting once again behind him and sprinted even faster but grunted in pain when he felt two sharp object slice his side and lower leg.

Using chakra he enhanced his jump and landed on another large roof he turned around in one fluid motion and with his blade still in his hand deflected the incoming projectiles headed his way. **"Not many people can get away from Pein, I'm actually impressed."**

Lasting narrowed his eyes. **"I've had it with you, stop running and face me!"**

Ghost weaved through a few handsigns. "Fūton: Shinkūha!" Blades of wind were formed and charged at Lasting who couldn't dodge them all and received multiple cuts.

Ghost slammed his shoulder into the man and they both stumbled to the ground, Ghost was the first to act and started punching him relentlessly.

He felt all his hits connect but he didn't feel that he was actually accomplishing anything, he quickly reached for a kunai and stabbed him in the chest_ 'something's wrong here…'_

Lasting freed himself and planted his feet on Ghost's chest and kicked him away. He stood up and grabbed the kunai that was still stuck in his chest and threw it back at Ghost who narrowly evaded it.

Lasting jumped; his blade high above his head.

'_Kuso!' _Ghost dove to his katana which lay on the ground in front of him and barely managed to deflect the blade.

With his free hand he made a few one handed signs. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Small fireballs hit Lasting and blasted him off the roof. Ghost quickly scrambled to his feet and resumed his sprint.

Ghost looked to his left and saw Micheru alone, desperately trying to fight off a holder. **"Kuso!" **he cursed again. He turned his attention on her and headed her way. He sprinted at full speed and jumped off the roof during his flight he noticed Lasting behind him once again.

He knew that Lasting was preparing the finishing blow, but Micheru's opponent was preparing the killing blow himself as well.

"**GHOST, DIE NOW!" **Lasting roared, causing Micheru and the nearby shinobi to look up.

In a split second decision he threw a kunai towards Micheru´s adversary, puncturing the back of his neck, killing him and then quickly turned around and blocked the deadly blow with his own blade,

Lasting pushed Ghost's blade away and then let his own blade go and grabbed him by his robe. **"Goodbye, Hunter Ghost." **he held his claw in front of Ghost's abdomen and blasted him away in red chakra wave that emitted from is claw.

Ghost who was approaching the pavement fast got blasted into one of the already ruined buildings instead.

"Ghost!" Micheru screamed in despair. She stumbled to get up and ran towards the building only to be stopped by a slightly bleeding Hawke. "Stop Micheru, Orochimaru is there as well, you'll be killed before you can reach him."

Micheru tried to push him away. "He needs our help!"

Kakashi who was helping with the wounded came to a halt in front of him, Sasuke, Sakura and Choji close behind. "We'll get him, don't worry!"

Micheru only nodded, that was all she managed to do. Ghost meant a lot to her as did all of the Hunters and the thought of him dying was unbearable. the words he had spoken earlier hurt her she still hoped that what he said was not true. Sure Ghost could make her seethe at times but could make her laugh just as much as well.

Hawke sat her down gently and looked over her wounds. She had a nasty gash above her forehead and also one on her side. "Micheru, where's Mayu?"

"She took Robatsu to the medical station the tower. He's in critical condition." She managed to say while she took deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"Alright, we'll stay here and wait for the others, most of the Reavers are already dead and the guy that Ghost was fighting with is one of the only ones left.

xXx

Minutes later Ghost groaned and tried to stand up. _'What the hell was that?'_

"Kukuku, Jiraiya you were always the most stubborn one, never knowing when to give up…even now lying at my feet you still try to fight, how very amusing!"

Ghost widened his eyes, his godfather! Even if there was only a single breath left in his body, he'd use it to save Jiraiya. He slowly, using the wall as support stood up.

He breathed in and focused for a moment before he sprinted to where the sound came from and busted through a half destroyed door, entering an equally destroyed room. The wall was missing showing the Hokage tower and the square in front of it. He saw Orochimaru standing there, having been wounded as well in the fight.

"**Orochimaru!" **Ghost roared and punched the snake in the face sending him over the edge to the streets below.

Ghost crouched down next to Jiraiya and looked him over. **"Are you alright, Jiraiya?"**

Jiraiya managed to chuckle. "N-never better…" he coughed and a small trickle of blood trailed down his chin.

"**You are a persistent one alright." **A voice said.

Ghost's eyes widened in surprise, and dove to the ground, escaping death once again. He turned around on the ground and planted his foot in Lasting's chest who had appeared in front of him, Ghost pushed himself off the ground and charged Lasting, fist pumped back.

"Sen'eijashu!" Orochimaru hissed and sent a couple of snakes towards Ghost. The snake Sannin had reentered the building when Ghost was distracted

Ghost decided to go for the blow and punched Lasting into the ground. He tried to follow up with a ninjutsu but was held firmly in place by Orochimaru's snakes.

He tried grabbing one of the snakes but to no avail and felt himself being turned towards the Snake sannin.

"Well…well…well… if it isn't one of those annoying Hunters, Kukuku! Almost as troublesome as the Akatsuki some would say." Orochimaru walked forward and took a closer look at Ghost's face, his eyes suddenly widening in surprise. "You! This cannot be! You are supposed to be dead!"

"**Seriously...I'm going to be pissed if you say that I look exactly like the Yondaime." **Ghost growled, still trying to get free, but still to no avail. The red chakra attack Lasting blasted him with severely hampered with his chakra.

Orochimaru took a closer look at the rest of his appearance, first at his claw and then at his eyes, and finally at his whisker marks. "Whisker marks…I can only remember one person who had those marks and I haven't seen him in a long time."

Ghost growled and put all of his strength in breaking free, and slowly the snakes started snapping under the pressure. With his claw now free he grabbed the remaining snakes and tore them off. He then viciously punched Orochimaru in the face and reached for a kunai, his katana was still lying outside.

Ghost bent backwards when Lasting came charging in, dodging him barely.

Lasting was now open for a counter and Ghost intended to use it. He created a Rasengan, aimed it at Lasting's exposed back and slammed into it.

Lasting let out a cry of pain and tried to get back off the ground, which he had slammed into seconds earlier.

Ghost then grabbed him by the arm and swung him through the wall.

"It _is_ you!" Orochimaru charged in and planted his fist in Ghost's face who flew out of the building and onto the streets, straight into Kakashi and the others, including Tsunade, Shizune a bruised Asuma, Kurenai and the rest of Konoha 11 who had arrived moments ago.

Ghost spat out some blood and stood up, his back to the group. He looked down at his hands and noticed that two of his fingers were broken; he sighed and looked at his blade which he managed to grab, before he flew out of the building, which now lay on the ground not far from him. A few moments later Jiraiya came flying through the air and bounced off the ground and landed in front of Ghost.

Ghost kneeled and placed his hand on Jiraiya's shoulder. **"You okay?"**

Jiraiya slowly nodded. "J-just let me lie here for a moment."

Ghost smirked and patted him. He stood up, trying to ignore the burning pain in his chest.

Lasting walked forward, he noticed a shadow heading his way and leaped backward. He followed the shadow and noticed the user, standing with the rest of the group. **"You going to let them do the dirty work, Ghost?"**

Ghost eyed Lasting, and then turned to Orochimaru who had joined him.

Orochimaru noticed Sasuke standing there as well and smiled even wider. "Sasuke-kun, it's been such a long time! I must say I'm disappointed in your choice."

Sasuke smirked. "keep talking; you'll get what you deserve soon enough."

Orochimaru chuckled again. "And what dear Sasuke-kun might that be?"

It was Ino that stepped forward. "Don't try and even deny it!"

Orochimaru barely spared her a glance. "How entertaining this might be, I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. Sasuke, I'm still extending my offer, I can offer you the revenge you so much want!"

Before Sasuke could speak up, Sakura butted in. "You disgusting snake! How can you even forget that you killed Naruto! "

Ghost eyes widened in disbelief and fear, fear of compromising his hidden identity. He charged forward only to be blocked by Lasting who was bleeding all over the place. **"I guess that our reports were accurate after all, you just don't know when to give up"** He made a cut across Ghost's chest, but the attack was partially blocked by Ghost.

Orochimaru in the meantime turned looked from Sakura to Ghost and then laughed. "You," he pointed to Ghost. "You sure are devious! I could have had use for you! Your time for fooling everyone has to come to an end, Ghost!"

Ghost who had both his hands locked with Lasting's could only throw Jiraiya a desperate look, who in turn tried to stand up.

"Orochimaru, enough! You talked for long enough, come and face me!" Jiraiya shouted, trying to get his attention.

"So you're in on it too? You knew it as well, Jiraiya-kun? I have to say I never thought you'd keep a secret that big from Konoha!"

Tsunade who had started addressing Jiraiya's wounds looked at him. "What is he talking about? Jiraiya!" she shook him but he ignored her.

Jiraiya looked at Ghost. "I'm sorry, Ghost…"

Ghost however seethed with anger and overpowered Lasting, he slammed his fist into the Reaver's stomach and charged Orochimaru, using multiple flashstep(s), he tried to get there as fast as possible but his chakra was running low so he was forced on using several short steps.

"Ghost here," Orochimaru pointed at him again

One flashstep and Ghost almost screamed out in pain. The burning pain in his chest intensified.

"The one you all apparently hate so much, by the looks you're giving him."

Another flashstep Ghost noticed Lasting behind him, going for the killing move, he ignored him and prepared himself for another flashstep, he reckoned he only needed two more, if only Orochimaru could keep talking crap for just a few more moments.

"Is none other..."

Ghost took another flashstep, only one more! He already pulled his fist back. **"Orochimaru!"**

Everyone standing in the square was literally waiting for the verdict. Orochimaru knew the identity of Ghost, something everyone wanted to know the moment they first laid eyes on him.

Hinata and all of the other Konoha 11 members were looking at the situation with wide eyes.

"Than Naruto Uzumaki!" Orochimaru finished with a devious smile on his face, knowing the agony that Naruto would face would outweigh any punch he would manage to lay upon him.

Ghost used the speed of his flashstep to give Orochimaru the most deadly blow he managed to give.

Orochimaru who couldn't dodge in time flew through the air and crashed through a wall.

"N-Naruto…?" a soft voice, Hinata's voice whispered. Already she feared that she couldn't handle this revelation.

Ghost used flashstep and dodged Lasting's attack who landed in a crouching position, Lasting knew that that was his last chance, he had to retreat and inform his leader. In a single flashstep he disappeared, taking Orochimaru with him.

Ghost looked down at his claw and hand. _'Who am I now? Everything I tried eventually didn't matter in the end.'_

It was Tsunade's soft voice that brought him out of his reveries. "Turn around please…"

Ghost wanted to ignore her, but what did it matter? Even if he denied it, one look at his face was all they needed. And hiding until the features of his transformation were gone would do the exact same thing.

He noticed his blade lying on the ground next to his feet. _'Itachi's gift to me, I sure could've used your help here, Itachi." _He grabbed his blade from the floor and held it tightly in his hand.

"Please…"

Ghost, fingered his facemask, on Mayu's insistence he decided not to wear it, which if you would look at it would put the final nail on the coffin. _'Ghost…Naruto…one and the same in the end…_

"Naruto?" a male voice asked this time and he knew that it was Kakashi. He had been the start of it all.

_"I know, Asuma, but I wonder if it isn't best if I'd replace Naruto with someone else, then Sasuke could focus on his training and not on Naruto, who he clearly hates now…with Naruto in the way, he'll only solely focus on him, which isn't the best thing."_

Then Asuma had said something as well, something that had hurt him deeply. _"That seems most logical, as long as you don't trade with someone from my team, I don't know how to handle the kid"_

But what Kakashi had said after was what hurt him the most. _"You don't know him that well, Kurenai, he's a pain in the ass and sometimes I wish I never had taken him on as a student. He constantly screws up, he never thinks, and it's often at the cost of us."_

Ghost felt the irony, from dead last to one of the most deadly shinobi to ever come across.

He sighed and straightened his back. He slowly turned around. **"Nobody called me that in a long long time…"**

He was now completely turned around and slowly walked towards the group. They were completely silent, their mouths wide open.

"It is you..." Hinata whispered.

Tsunade was shaking; tears were already sliding down her face. Her hands balled into fists, Jiraiya did not turn his head and only looked at the ground in defeat. "I'm sorry, kid." He softly said.

Ghost stopped in front of Jiraiya and Tsunade. **"Not your fault Jiraiya, Orochimaru always was a problem; he just has this knack for screwing up everyone's lives."**

Micheru was surprised to say the least. She knew that Ghost's real name was Naruto; but that he tried to keep it a secret to such an extent was completely new to her.

Sakura opened and closed her mouth every few seconds, unable to form a sentence with the amount of questions that formed in her mind.

Ghost didn't even spare her a glance.

Tsunade stood up, trembling. She looked straight in Ghost's cold calculated eyes. "How could you do this to us for so long! Why did you lie! Why in Kami's name did you lie?!"

Ghost tilted his head, as if he was considering answering her questions. He instead slowly sheathed his blade. He looked down at his claw and released the demonic chakra that was in his arm. Slowly his claw turned back into his hand. **"If you don't know the answer to those questions then you haven't **changed at all."

"We have so many questions! Where have you been all this time, with whom and what's the deal with you and the Akatsuki?" Shikamaru asked and stepped forward.

Kakashi stepped forward as well, extending his hand. "I'm so sorry for everything that I've done. There are so many things I regret, please let me explain."

Ghost looked down at his hand and then walked past him, towards Itachi who had just arrived, looking pretty beat up as well. "Are you okay?" he asked his friend, ignoring Kakashi's slumped shoulders.

Itachi smiled and nodded. "I'm okay, had a tough opponent but nothing I can't handle."

Ghost nodded as well. "And Kisame?"

"He's scouting the area as we speak." Itachi replied, glancing to the group behind the Hunter.

"Good"

"What happened here?" he asked.

"They know" was all Ghost said.

"I see…" Itachi softly spoke; he gave a short questioning look.

"Orochimaru saw my face and put two and two together." Ghost sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"So he was here after all. Is he dead now?" Itachi asked.

"No I think my opponent took Orochimaru with him when he left."

Itachi noticed someone behind him. "Incoming" he pointed out.

Ghost turned around only to stagger back as someone put her arms around him and sobbed, her face buried in his chest.

Ghost looked down and noticed pink hair.

"I'm so sorry about everything." She sobbed and hugged him even more tightly.

Ghost looked at the onlookers and then back down at Sakura. "Let go of me…"

When Sakura didn't move he narrowed his eyes. "I won't ask again"

Still no response, Ghost sighed and grabbed her arms and roughly pulled her away. He turned to the Hokage. "Hokage, send shinobi after the intruders"

"Naruto! How can you be so heartless?" Ino screamed as she ran over to Sakura and put an arm around her shoulder.

Ghost ignored her and kept his focus on Tsunade "Well?"

Hokage turned her eyes away from Naruto for just a moment she motioned for one of the Anbu. "Send for Anbu squads one and two to pursue the Reavers."

The Anbu nodded and left in a swirl of leaves.

Hinata who always had feelings for Naruto couldn't believe that he and Ghost were the same. She still remembered what he had said when their group had arrived for an alliance.

_"Don't you just love fear?"_

_"People like you make me feel sick." Hinata said between clenched teeth, eyeing the blonde Hunter._

_"Luckily I don't care." Ghost said with a smile that made Hinata narrow her eyes._

What had happened to the bright blonde boy whom she had a crush on.

Ghost turned around and headed towards the headquarters, hoping to get away from them all.

"Where are you going, Naruto?" Kiba asked with his eyes narrowed. The fact that Naruto was still alive shocked him to the core. But what was worse was the fact that Naruto had almost killed him at the arena was not something he would forget easily.

Tsunade who had finally managed to get out of her shock spoke up as well. "This changes a lot of things, Naruto, you have to come with me to the tower."

Naruto ignored her and kept walking, Kiba who was still angry about the incident at the arena shun-shined in front of him and pushed him back. "You heard her, it's time you face the consequences of betraying us."

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "Kiba step aside if you don't want a repeat of last time."

Sasuke shun shined in front of him as well. "Naruto, listen to the Hokage please. Let's straighten this out."

Ghost snorted, when Kiba didn't step aside Ghost grew impatient. He sighed and grabbed Kiba by his vest and roughly pushed him aside throwing him against the wall of a house.

He pushed Sasuke aside and walked further down the streets.

"Naruto don't force me to detain you!" Tsunade shouted.

Naruto softly chuckled and came to a halt, his chuckle grew to laughter and he turned around. "That didn't work out too well last time didn't it? You want to try it again? I'll promise that you won't be as lucky this time!"

Tsunade looked at him with sad eyes. "You don't mean that…" she said but her voice was laced with doubt.

"Ghost, stand down, we don't need infighting." Rome said as he suddenly appeared between Tsunade and Ghost.

"They know, Rome, if I let them take me to the tower I know for a fact that I won't get off that easily." Ghost sighed; the pain in his chest was killing him. He unconsciously rubbed his chest.

Rome smiled. "Don't worry, we protect our own remember? They know not to do anything stupid."

Ghost looked at Itachi he gave him a questioning look.

Itachi nodded. "I'll walk with you; make sure that they won't do anything."

Ghost returned the gesture and turned his attention back on the blonde female. "Well, Hokage, it seems that I'll cooperate for the time being, don't try anything that you might regret." His voice was full with anger.

Tsunade motioned for him to follow and Ghost slowly walked back. _'I hate my life…'_

* * *

><p>Finally! The truth is out!<p>

I bet you were all waiting for this chapter for a long long time. I wanted to include Naruto facing the music but I decided against it and include it next chapter so I cut it out.

Hopefully you enjoyed this one; I really did enjoy writing it!

And in case you did enjoy it, don't forget to Review ;)


	19. Chapter 19: Hate and Alcohol

I will become a Ghost chapter 19

Hiyas! It's been over a month and I apologize! But I'm lazy like that + I've been watching Scrubs, Blame J.D ^^

Normally i'd respond to all the Reviewers but It's an ridiculous amount so instead i'll just write the names down to show them my appreciation!

Reviewers:

PyroPhoricity, Trak The Cat, Ngbeken Lovette, Roboguy45, Aki-chan97,IhateNinjas (just joking)/ Iluvninjas, GodofGreed, Penny-writer-09, Bankai777, Cariangelus, MyinnerDEMON17, Beck, Matsukaze Tenma, Some Dude, Guest, Shika The Brain, SuzyQ, Silver Flyer, Trigun, Ezra Scarlet, Shinnypuchu88, NarutoPANDAA, Nilsey, The Wammey Girls, Furionknight.

Zoom zoom zoom!

Thanks for all the reviews, favorites etttttcc.

Now for the poll...! please bear in mind that no matter what the results will be I will do my very best to make the story as it is and i promise that the pairing will in no way influence this story's plot.

Random drumroll please!

Poll: Should Naruto be paired with Hinata in this story?

Outcome: Yes, Naruto should be paired with Hinata (27 votes)

For all Hinata haters I'm very sorry but that's the way it is.

Close second was : No, but someone else not from Konoha (22 votes)

And finally no pairing with 20 votes.

So, yes Naruto/Hinata pairing will be in this story but I won't add Hinata in story summary as secondary main character because she won´t be.

Now, let´s get this chapter started!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become A Ghost Chapter 19**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 19 – Hate and alcohol~<p>

Ghost and Itachi walked side by side through the hallway, heading for the council room. He rubbed his face in annoyance, when this was over, no doubt he'd have a big talk with Mayu and Rome since Rome had seen his 'abilities'. It wasn't something he was looking forward to.

He could feel Sasuke's gaze on the back of his head but ignored it.

"Here it is." Tsunade said and opened the double doors. She stepped aside and let the others in first.

Ghost entered first, his back straight, showing his defiance to the council members. The same council members who had decided to end his shinobi career.

The room was filled with the same people that had given him his punishment all those years ago.

Ghost thought about turning around and leaving but decided against it, but only because they were on the verge of an massacre the scale that was unimaginable, better known as the Reavers.

A push in his back however turned his anger that was already at it's boiling point to almost explode. He turned around and looked at Kiba who had given him the push in his back.

Kiba looked at him impatiently, "Keep moving."

The group who were with them had witnessed Kiba's beating in the arena and nervously looked at the two

Ghost narrowed his eyes and turned around, grabbing him by his shirt. " You're dangerously close to seeing me angry and believe me, you don't want to see me angry."

Sasuke and Sakura who were side by side with looked at Kiba, hoping for him to calm down.

Kiba defiantly looked him in the eyes. "or what?"

Kakashi shook his head. "That's not smart, not even for you."

"Remember that warm up I had with you?" Ghost said referring this Kiba's near death experience."That's nothing compared to what is going to happen when you don't shut up."

Before Kiba could respond Tsunade spoke up who stood behind Ghost. "Alright, enough let's get this started."

Ghost shoved Kiba away and turned around, He looked at the Hokage before roughly shoving her away and walked forward, Itachi beside him.

Several people gasped and the council members stood up from their seats. "Such insolence!"

Ghost scoffed and came to a halt in front of the stand which held the council members including the main clanheads. "Well that's been a long time ago hasn't it?"

"Don't talk unless we give you permission to" Homaru strictly said.

Ghost turned to Itachi who already had a small smile on his face. "Oh before i forget, Itachi, pokernight at the HQ. Kisame and Hawke are joining and i heard that Rome was joining in."

Itachi gave a smile. " what's the stake?"

Before Ghost could respond Danzo slammed his fist down on the table, silencing them both.

Tsunade covered his smile with her hand pretending to cough. "Alright, Koharu, please.""

Koharu stood up. "This meeting has been called to handle Uzumaki Naruto's return after betraying the village."

Some of the council members nodded while other folded their arms. Tsunade had taken a seat at the center, sitting beside her were Homaru and Koharu.

All members of the Konoha 11 who were given permission to attend to the 'meeting' were standing at the side.

Ghost was flanked by two Anbu guards. The burning pain in his chest was slowly receding. He rubbed it, hoping to alleviate the pain.

Itachi noticed. "Something wrong?" he whispered, his eyes never leaving Danzo.

"Just the after effects of my fight." He whispered back.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward."

Ghost surpressed a smirk, he knew deep down that the moment he went back to Konoha he would eventually face the music. He stepped forward and crossed his arms.

"You knew that you were scheduled for a Chakra restricting seal on the 15th of November, Seven years ago. is that right?" Koharu asked.

"Sounds about right." Ghost answered.

"Please answer with yes or no." Tsunade asked and then motioned for Homaru to continue.

"Did you then betrayed the village, knowing full well what would happen to your status and would be labeled either to be taken alive or killed."

"Yeah, let's not go into details about who betrayed who. But the status i liked. Seriously S-Rank for a genin, I have to admit, that made me feel good." Ghost smirked waving his hand showing his casualness despite being on some form of trial.

Itachi shook his head. "Kisame would've loved this."

Ghost's gaze turned to Itachi. "I'll get the tape later." And pointed with his head towards the camera in the corner.

"Uzumaki! This is not some joke, respond accordingly." Danzo voice cut through the silence.

Ghost focused his attention back on the two elder members. "Fine, Yes i knew full well that i'd be labeled as a missing nin."

"Good then you know full well that your punishment will be death through shinobi method. Danzo 's loud voice boomed through the room.

Ghost momentarily stiffened before resting his hand on his pouch. "I'd like to see you try, old man."

Danzo stood up but Tsunade butted in. "Hold on! This is a different case. The Hunter's allegiance will be directly influenced by the outcome of the trial."

"As well as the Akatsuki's" Itachi answered which earned him a thankful nod from Ghost.

Danzo reluctantly backed down.

"I suggest that Uzumaki Naruto can redeem himself by rejoining the shinobi ranks." Tsunade offered.

Ghost chuckled. "Yeah, Hokage, not going to happen."

"It's either that or will put you in a holding cell until we know what to do with you." Tsunade said, her patience growing rather thin.

Ghost walked forward, ignoring the shift in the Anbu's in the corner of the room. He reached her table and rapped his knuckle on it. "Well and if you want Konoha to survive this war then i'd suggest to tell your lapdogs here to open the door and let me out."

Tsunade leaned forward. "What happened to you?" she softly asked. Her eyes didn't show the intensity of an Hokage but that of the mother figure Ghost used to know so well.

Ghost smirked. "I opened my eyes. This conversation is over." He turned around and walked back to the double doors.

Tsunade sighed. "Let him go."

"But, Tsunade-" Danzo started.

"You heard me, we can't do anything for now." Her eyes still closed.

"This isn't over, Uzumaki." Danzo angrily said.

"If i see you or your followers i'll put your other arm in bandages as well." He answered, never bothering to turn around.

Itachi watched him leave and was intend to follow but Danzo stopped him.

"Itachi Uchiha, our other missing shinobi. I wonder what the world is coming to when we allow two of our biggest traitors roam free in our village without so much as a retribution," Danzo shook his head. "Konoha has really sunk , if you don't do what's neccesary, I will."

Itachi focused his attention on Danzo with an impassive look. "You forget something, Danzo."

"And that's what." Danzo asked with his one visible eye narrowed.

"I already massacred a part of the village so I got a knack for it. Ghost on the other hand got even better at it, "The Uchiha smirked. " you might want to think twice before threatening two mass murderers." The whole subject was still as painful as it was when he killed his first family member. But sometimes it was neccesary.

The whole room burst in an uproar.

Sasuke joined in. "You fucking bastard! Before this war is over i'll have your head!"

Itachi followed in Ghost's footsteps and exited the council room.

Tsunade who had forgotten the supposed Irosa massacre suddenly came to the shocking revelation.

Ghost had killed every man woman and child in the village.

Ghost and Naruto were one and the same.

"Naruto killed them?" Tsunade softly asked to no one.

Kakashi had the same train of thought and quickly turned around and ran after him.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked, wondering Itachi had meant with that.

Tsunade hesitated for a moment before standing up resolute. "What Itachi meant with that was that Naruto is not so different from Itachi," When no one responded she continued. "Most of you know that a couple of years ago an entire village was slaughtered, leaving almost no survivors. The one that did survive was a small child no older than eight years old who had repeated a two words over and over again; 'Red and Ghost'. We couldn't get much out of it other than that the person who had done this we assumed was named Ghost and that perhaps was dressed in red clothing."

By now people started putting two and two together, The Nara's being the first one.

"We immediately listed him in the bingo book and searched far and wide for someone named Ghost and found a mercenary with that whenever we came close he just kept eluding us and eventually we had to give up the search."

Ino held her hand in front of her mouth in shock. "Are you saying that Naruto did that?"

Tsunade merely nodded.

"Damn..." Kiba whispered.

xXx

Kisame was waiting outside the Hokage tower along with Mayu and Hawke. Kisame had scouted the area and eventually had captured a wounded Reaver trying to escape but didn't have the chakra required to use Flashstep.

Ghost and Itachi stepped outside and walked over to the small group. "Status?" Ghost asked.

Hawke looked to the ground which slightly confused Ghost.

"What?" Ghost asked.

Hawke didn't have the heart to tell so Mayu did.

"Ghost...Robatsu's dead."

"No..." Ghost said between gritted teeth. "Che!" (damn) He balled his fist in anger before he slumped his shoulder in defeat.

"I was my fault." Hawke whispered in sadness.

"How so?" Ghost asked. Unsure whether to take him for his words or not.

Hawke gave him a short summary of what happened.

_Flashback_

_Hawke and Robatsu both were seperated but were still fighting in the now largely destroyed store._

_Hawke used a table to gain some height and then jumped of it, both his feet clasped together and planted them in his opponent's face who in return flew out of the store._

_Without thinking twice he charged after, a kunai in both his hands._

_Robatsu could only look with desperate eyes at Hawke's back. His mouth was covered by a claw whichprevented him from calling for help. He tried to free himself from his grasp but utterly failed._

"_**For all your cunningness, power you have not." **__With those words he rammed his claw throgh Robatsu's chest, piercing his lung._

_Robatsu shut his eyes in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood. With the last of his energy he grabbed his enemy by the head with both hands and pushed both his thumbs in the Reaver's eye sockets._

_A painful roar escaped the man's lips as blood seeped out of his sockets. He dropped Robatsu on the ground and stumbled back._

"_Robatsu!" Hawke shouted as he came sprinting back in the store. He saw the stumbling Reaver and quickly snapped his neck before crouching next to Robatsu. "Hold on, we have to get you to Mayu she'll patch you up."_

_Robatsu only coughed up more blood and slipped into unconsciouness._

_Hawke's eyes widened in fear and quickly placed his ear on his chest hoping for a heartbeat._

_He sighed in relief when he heard a faint hearbeat. He quickly hoisted him on his shoulder and set off to find either Mayu or Micheru._

_End flashback._

"You can't blame yourself, Hawke." Ghost said and placed one hand on his shoulder.

Hawke looked away. "He needed my help and I was to focused on gutting the other bastard."

Ghost sighed. "Hawke, if you didn't then he'd have killed you while you were helping Robatsu. We can't save everyone."

Hawke didn't respond to that.

Ghost turned to Kisame. "Had any luck with stragglers?"

Kisame nodded. "Yeah, we captured a Reaver, he could answer a few questions, if we can crack him."

"Then why aren't you doing that?" Ghost asked him.

Kisame casually stretched the muscles in his arms. "The man needs to be patched up before i can have some fun."

"Ghost, we need to talk." Mayu said and her eyes cast a glance to his gauntlet.

Ghost nodded in understanding. "I guess we do, Let's head find the other's and i'll tell you everything."

"We'll head for the headquarters." Mayu turned around, her otherwise kind demeanor was entirely gone and only an impassive gaze had remained.

Ghost walked beside her with Hawke close behind. "How are you holding up?" He asked the female Hunter

Mayu sighed. " barely able, but I have to. Micheru has it bad though, if you have time could you talk to her?"

Ghost raisen an eyebrow. "Sure...but you're her mom, shouldn't it be easier for her to deal with it if she'd talk to you?"

"I tried but children barely listen to their parents, I bet you were the same?" Mayu asked and looked at him.

Ghost scratched his his cheek, "I never knew my parents actually."

Mayu looked at him like he had said something weird. "But you said you hated your father?"

Ghost smirked. "I do hate him"

"then why do you hate him if you never met him?"

Ghost opened the door of their headquarters. "That will become clear in a couple of minutes."

Mayu just shook her head.

They walked through the corridor greeting Konan as they walked past her. Mayu opened the door that led to Tactical Planning.

Rome was standing there with Raipa and Micheru whose eyes wer red and tear streaks that covered her delicate face.

The moment Rome saw him he marched over and grabbed him by his tattered shirt. "You have some explaining to do."

Ghost supressed his wince of pain and nodded."Before you act like i'm one of them please wait," He motioned for Hawke who was leaning against the big table which was covered with scrolls.

"Ghost isn't one of them. I've known about this for a long time." Hawke said as he reached for Rome's arm and unlatched it from Ghost's.

Ghost rubbed his face. "I was a Jinchuuriki, after i was banished I encountered two Reavers. I killed them and then was stupid enough to touch that tattoo. It somehow started to merge with my muscles in my lower arm other than influencing it."

The moment he had said he was a Jinchuuriki the dots connected and Mayu nodded in understanding.

Rome's face lit up in understanding. "I always suspected that tattoo was a seal of sorts."

"Can you show us?" Mayu asked, glancing to Micheru who stayed silent on the background.

Ghost nodded and looked down at his gauntlet. Hechanneled his chakra into his lower arm and grunted in pain. His eyes flashed red for a second. Around his lower arm dark red chakra swirls twirled around.

Rome looked interestedly and Mayu and Micheru's eyes were wide with surprise.

Ghost felt his eyes burn lightly and he saw that his lower arm had changed into that of a demon. **"Satisfied?"**

Rome grabbed Ghost's demonic claw and studied it closely. "Interesting, I've seen it numerous times before but I always thought it was a permanent change."

"**I have no idea how that works." **Ghost clenched and unclenched his claw and released the chakra. **"Look **I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys because I was afraid that you would take it the wrong way."

"At ies i'possible, you are fea'less." Raipa added with soft chuckle.

Ghost smiled. "Not when it comes to my friends."

Micheru's mind was blown away. Days earlier, Ghost told her he didn't think of them as friends.

"This opens a lot of possibilities." Mayu said thoughfully.

Ghost nodded. "Infiltrations,espionage,assassination. We got enough options."

"One we must exploit and soon." Pein said as he walked in.

Ghost turned to the leader of the Akatsuki. "Why is that?"

"Our prisoner, if we disguise you as him and then send you to their main camp, you can take his role and gather intel."

Ghost thought it over. "what do you hope to get out of this infiltration beside information?" he finally asked.

"The Reavers are a massive force," Pein sat down on one of the many chairs. "If we hope to have a chance we must kill their leader."

Rome who was previously looking over the maps which indicated possibly camps of the enemy jerked his head up. "That man can't be killed by assassination. We have to outnumber him with at least half of the Ataksuki and Hunters if we want to stand a chance."

"You over estimate his abilities, Rome." Hawke said.

"And you understimate his!" Rome snapped. "In case you need to be reminded, i'm the only person currently alive on this earth that faced him and got away."

Hawke shut his mouth after that.

"Things have changed, you're not alone anymore." Itachi said.

"I wonder if it will be enough. Ghost, meet us at interrogation, first thing tomorrow morning." Mayu ordered.

Ghost nodded and left, intending on getting a good night rest. "See you guys in the morning."

xXx

Ghost walked out the door, deciding one drink wouldn't hurt. He entered one of the many bars and sat down. He could feel eyes looking his way but ignored it. He ordered a cup of sake and downed it before sighing in satisfaction.

"I never took you for a sake drinker."

Ghost turned his head to the left and saw Kakashi sitting next to him. "You never took me for a lot of things." He signed for the bartender for two more and slid one to Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded before downing the drink, somehow keeping his face hidden from Ghost. "So you want to talk about it?"

Ghost rubbed his face. "No, but even if I did, i wouldn't want to talk about it with you."

Kakashi leaned with his head on his hand. "Meh, Naruto let go of the past..."

Ghost narrowed his eyes in anger. "Hatake, in case you forgot, i had let go of the past, my plan was to never grab a hold again, but that didn't really happen, "he stood up and threw some money on the counter. "and before you decide to give me another one of your life lessons maybe you should check yourself first, Shinobi Hatake."

Kakashi could only look at his retreating back. "That didn't go to well..."

"Did you expect anything else?" Sasuke asked as he sat down next to him.

"I guess not. Maa, Sasuke you should stop your girlfriend from talking to Naruto I don't think he's in the mood."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You really think she's just going to stop after the treatment Naruto gave her?"

Sasuke said nothing but did turn around and headed outside.

Ghost looked up to the sky, it was a clear night sky giving Konoha a peaceful and calm appearance. He smiled, he couldn't help but smile because even though the time he had lived here was hell, there were also times of laughter and joy.

From the strolls through the park with the Third Hokage or the simply sitting on the Hokage monument to the missions he did with Team seven.

His smile faltered when he realized that probably the fun they had was one sided and that Kakashi never felt the same.

"Naruto, can I talk to you?"

Ghost sighed. "No you can't, Sakura"

Sakura grabbed him by his arm, stopping him from walking away. "I don't care how you treat us all but if you don't even have the decency to stop and talk then I'll beat it into you."

Ghost turned around his killing intent rolled off of him in waves. "Haruno...you have three seconds to let me go."

Sakura who had trouble breathing gasped for breath and let his arm go. The killing intent was very similar to Orochimaru's all those years ago in the Forest of Death.

"Naruto calm down" Sasuke said as he stepped between him and Sakura, shielding her from his anger. He too had trouble with maintaining his composure.

"I'm going to say this once more. Leave me alone, I don't want anything to do with you pathetic excuses for shinobi. If you bother me again I am going to hurt you." Ghost vanished with a single flashstep.

"Sasuke,Sakura, Let him be." Shikamaru said as he appeared from the street to their left.

Sakura wanted to protest but Shikamaru held his hand up . "He's having trouble to get used to everyone knowing who he really is and if people keep bothering him...he's been running for a long time now"

"I wonder if time is going to help at all" Sasuke wondered aloud. The old Sasuke would've felt no guilt for his actions but things had changed and he couldn't help but feel guilt course through his body for what he had done to Naruto.

xXx

Ghost sat down against one of the treepost on the old training ground. He knew he had to talk to Micheru but he didn't really feel like it.

He ran a hand through his blonde hair and smiled, he reached for his pocket and pulled out a bottle of sake, "Goodnight Robatsu."

He raised the bottle to the sky before taking a sip from it.

* * *

><p>Chadeeesie!<p>

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll try and post one more before december's over but i can't promise ;)

I hope you all have a great christmas and a happy new year!


	20. Chapter 20: Ghost or Naruto?

SORRY! Extremely sorry for the big delay no excuse is worth my absence. I just found no real inspiration and combine that with replaying Dragon age Origins and such makes it just worse.

But here it is and I decided to make it longer than usual. Most chapter have around 4k words this one has near 6k to make it up to ya guys/girls.

Now onto my favorite part…answering everyone who had time to write a review which I am eternally grateful for!

Aki-chan97: I'm sorry it took so long and I'm glad you like this story so much! It's readers like you who give me motivation to continue to write this story!

Iluvninjas: I wanted to reduce the amount of oc's in the story a bit so someone had to go and it still followed the storyline, so yea ^^. Thanks for the review!

Bankai777: Ban-kai! (gotta love bleach) I'll just give a wink. ;D (you'll find out soon enough!

Pyrophoricity: my hands were itching! I had to contain myself not to seriously hurt anyone haha! Thanks for the review and I'll try my best to deliver the same quality you expect of me :)

Trak The Cat: Yeah I have the same feeling with this chapter though I'm quite satisfied with it overall, (and I'm sorry I couldn't give you the same wishes :()

Ermda: I hope this will keep you satisfied until the next chapter releases!

Tedlay: I feel honored! I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner! Thanks for taking your time to review though!

Some Dude: sometimes Chapters just aint as good as the others, ;) I hope this chapter satisfies though!

Evil-pain: I'm sorry you feel this way. As I said. NaruHina is the pairing but won't me the main focus, more like an addon and I won't change the plot at all!.

Shika the Brain: You'll get more misery and verbal abuse soon Shikamaru!

Trigun: I stand by what I said earlier ;D they will all get what's coming, I know people want this straight to face verbal abuse and it's coming, just not now. I want Naruto to literally snap, and that requires some build up ^^

SuzyQ: I'm glad you like the pairing and that's one of the reasons why I added it in the poll because I felt the two could connect. And the most enjoyment I get out of this story is that no one even have a clue in the slightest where I'm going with this story ;p

The Wammy Girls: because you asked so nicely! Sorry for the delay and it won't happen again, seriously…three months?

Kairi-kun: I feel disgusted by myself for taking so long. As for Sasuke and Naruto having a fight between each other *whistles*

NarutoPANDAAA: That's the setting I'm trying to establish, and that continues in this chapter. Naruhina was a popular one alright but I'll never make a harem kind of story, I'm not that type :P

Ezra Scarlet: I'm glad you liked it! As if wrote to some of the other reviewers, Konoha will continue try to pull him back on their side, that's a big theme of the story :).

Guest: In a sense Naruto is dead just in a different kind of way. And I suspect you will be slightly disappointed by what I did with this chapter but it was a necessary stop to move the story forward.

Demon-lover-10: As promised!

Madslasher: omg omg omg here it is I'm sooorrryy! Me no want trouble! (ps: every reviewer is great because they give inspiration, motivation and constructive criticism)

And that's that! I'd also like to thank everyone who put this story to their favorites, alerts etc. you're amazing!

After this chapter there will be a timeskip to move the story forward a bit.

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I will become a Ghost Chapter 20**

* * *

><p>~ Chapter 20 - Ghost or Naruto? ~<p>

Couple of days later.

Ghost walked through the street, news about his return had spread through the village like wildfire. That disturbed him. He guessed the only reason the HQ wasn't stormed was because of the ANBU stationed at the entrance.

He saw he had reached his destination and smiled. He pushed the flaps aside and leaned against the wooden post. He rapped his knuckles on the wood, gaining attention from the inhabitants.

"Is it too much to ask for a Miso ramen?" Ghost asked Teuchi behind the counter.

Teuchi turned around, he looked at him for a long time before he slowly walked around the counter. He smiled before he pulled him into a tight hug. "Why?" was all he asked.

Ghost returned the hug. "Sometimes you just have to turn into a new direction, Konoha just gave me the much needed push."

Ayame walked in and saw the two hugging. She too had heard of Ghost and Naruto being one and the same and couldn't believe it at first. "N-Naruto?"

Ghost saw her standing and smiled. He held out his arm and she quickly ran over to embrace him as well.

"Why did you leave?" she asked as she pulled away, wiping away a few tears of joy.

Ghost laughed. "Is that all you have on your mind? No how have you been or something?"

Ayame laughed and wiped away a few more tears. "We thought you were dead!"

Ghost sat down at the counter. "Sorry about that. Your Hokage became annoying so she had that coming."

"So…you said that because you wanted to make her suffer? That's low." Shikamaru said as he sat down.

"Well, so was abandoning a friend in need." Ghost replied coldly.

Teuchi and Ayame noticed Ghost's behavior and decided to stay out of their way and moved to the back.

"You troublesome idiot, can't you see that her hands were tied behind her back?" Shikamaru said as he looked at Ghost from his seat in the corner, his head leaned against the wall.

"She's the Hokage, if she can't handle a few council members than the whole title of Hokage is as useless as this village is."

Shikamaru shook his head. "You're one selfish bastard."

Ghost let out a humorless chuckle. He turned around and looked at Shikamaru with cold empty eyes. "This whole village is selfish, I'm just adapting to it."

Shikamaru stood up and walked over. "What made you like this?"

Ghost smirked and stood up as well. "Don't you know?" he casually held his hand up. "It was Tsunade, the Council, Sasuke,Sakura, hell it was everyone from the rookie group. Hell, Shikamaru it was even you. It was Konoha."

"Then why are you helping us?" The Nara almost shouted.

"My god, is that all you people can ask around here? I am only helping this pathetic village for one reason only. Following orders, but believe me when i say that if it were up to me, this village would've already burned to the ground." He shoved the Nara out of the way and walked out of Ichiraku ramen.

"You changed, and not for the better." The Nara said with a grim face.

Ghost ignored him and looked to his left and saw Itachi and Hawke walking across the street. He shun shined beside them.

Hawke who was silently walking beside Itachi looked to Ghost. "So you have a dilemma here."

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "I do?" Already thinking about multiple scenarios with Konoha ranging from his friends to Danzo or the Hokage with her ridiculous attempts to get him back to join the village

Hawke nodded. "Is it Naruto or is it Ghost?"

Ghost shook his head in amusement, he should've known. "I haven't really thought about that yet."

"Perhaps you should?" Hawke asked with a smile, annoying Ghost was so much fun.

"I'm actually thinking about something else."

"what's that?"

"Well since the attack i want to improve my abilities." he looked at Itachi with a strange look in his eyes.

"What?" Itachi asked him.

"Up for a spar?" Ghost asked smirking behind his facemask.

Itachi shrugged. "Why not? Let's meet at training ground seven."

"I'll meet you there in ten but don't start complaining when you get your ass kicked" Ghost antagonized him, earning no response.

Hawke looked at the with wide eyes before abruptly turning around and sprinting towards the HQ _'Holy shit! It's finally happening! Gotta tell the others!"_

Ghost and Itachi could only look at his retreating back with surprise written on their face. "What was that about?" Ghost asked.

"No idea" Itachi responded, just as clueless.

xXx

The Hunters along with Pein, Konan,Kisame, and Jiraiya who had recuperated but was still walking limply were sitting in Tactical planning. For some reason the Reaver's hadn't attacked yet and that was worrisome. At first they figured it was because of their attempted attack on Konoha but that was several days ago and there still wasn't any movement.

It was then that Hawke sprinted inside, surprising most of them.

Mayu who figured that something was going on was already going through various scenarios.

"Ghost and Itachi are sparring at training ground seven!"

There was a moment of silence before everyone scrambled to their feet and ran for the door. All except Pein and Konan.

Jiraiya was easily left behind and cursed mentally.

X

Ghost parried Itachi's low blow and already expected Itachi's usual fast follow up.

Only it didn't happen and he was thrown slightly off balance, he jumped back and weaved through hand signs at the same time Itachi did.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" they both shouted and two humongous fireballs roared towards each other and clashed for dominance in the center.

Ghost smirked, his chakra reserves were always large, and when he merged with the Kyuubi his chakra increased exponentially.

He put more chakra in his attack and watched with slight satisfaction that his began to overpower Itachi's.

He glanced to the right and his eyes widened when he saw two shuriken incoming. He jumped out the way dodging not only the shuriken but also Itachi's fireball.

Itachi used a Shunshin to appear next to Ghost and tried to punch him only to have it blocked. He took a few steps back and dodged a counter from Ghost.

Itachi in return gave a low sweep with his feet. And reached in his sleeve for a kunai.

Ghost jumped to dodge and noticed that Itachi's hand momentarily disappeared in his sleeve, knowing he was reaching for either a kunai or a shuriken.

He held up his vambrace and blocked the kunai with it, while, with his free hand he reached for his katana and made a vertical slash, directly aimed at Itachi's head.

Itachi twirled to Ghost's side and gave him a vicious punch in the kidney.

Ghost staggered and temporarily fell to his knees.' _Hold breath…hold…release…calm down…' _he thought to himself and the low blow that had shocked him wore off quickly. "Chakra push!" he thrust out his hand and a burst of chakra charged straight at the genius that was Itachi.

But instead of dodging he thrust his hand out as well. "Chakra push!"

'_When did he learn that?!' _not having suspected a counter along the lines of pure chakra he wasn't prepared and his attack was easily overpowered by the Uchiha's.

He quickly jumped and used flash step, ending in midair in Itachi's back and gave him a sickening kick to the back of his head.

Itachi slammed through a tree and fell to the ground.

"about time I landed a hit." Ghost sarcastically said.

Itachi disappeared in a puff of smoke, a wooden log replaced him.

"I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming." Itachi said as he appeared behind Ghost and stabbed a kunai in his lower back.

Ghost grunted and slammed his elbow in Itachi's face who stumbled back.

The Hunter quickly reached for the kunai and pulled it out. "let's kick it up a notch."

Itachi merely nodded and with a burst of speed he disappeared.

Ghost's eyes darted from the left to the right before matching Itachi's speed and met in the middle of the training area, one held a kunai while the other held a katana, both panting slightly.

They both disappeared, one using shun shin while the other used flash step.

xXx

Jiraiya and the Hunter who had met up with Sasuke and Kakashi were on their way to the training ground, distant explosions tended to attract attention.

What met them was a warzone, and in the middle were Itachi and Ghost in a stalemate. Itachi let out a grunt when he felt him slowly being pushed back.

The blonde knew he had the upper hand and applied more pressure. He saw that Itachi had trouble because his chakra was running low and that most likely exhaustion was creeping into his body.

Ghost smirked and let his chakra flow through his blade and snapped the Uchiha's kunai in two. He followed up by slamming his fist in Itachi's face.

The Uchiha figured he had only enough chakra left for about two jutsu and decided to start with a technique he had learned from Kisame, or rather copied it.

He held two fingers outstretched in front of his mouth while his other hand high above his head. "Kirigakure no Jutsu" he calmly said.

Ghost narrowed his eyes. "Fūton: Daitoppa!" a gust of wind roared into the direction of Itachi.

The chirping of hundreds of birds brought his attention to his left and widened his eyes. "When the hell did you copy that Jutsu?"

He received no answer.

"Well I always wanted to test out the Rasengan against the stronger Uchiha" he said with a smirk, knowing Sasuke was listening in.

His answer was Itachi charging through the mist, a Chidori in his hand.

Ghost in return held out his hand, formed a Rasengan and dashed forward straight into Itachi's attack.

They met somewhere in the middle and slammed both their jutsu against each other.

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!" they roared simultaneously and a medium sized shockwave erupted from the attack.

At the center of the attack the two missing-nin both were once again at a stalemate, in one hand Itachi controlled his Chidori and in his other he had a kunai aimed for his collarbone.

Ghost on the other hand had grabbed Itachi's wrist and gave it a twist.

The Uchiha's only reaction was a single twitch from his eyebrow. He retaliated by kneeing Ghost in the stomach who gasped and used flash step to prevent a follow up.

Itachi rubbed his wrist after canceling his jutsu. "You win, Ghost. I'm out of chakra."

Ghost smiled. "Maybe you shouldn't have used those ridiculous combos of yours, have to admit though you nailed me good in the leg," He pointed to his slightly burned lower robe. "Though I wonder who would've won if you used your Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Could say the same about your 'bloodline' " Itachi noted.

Ghost walked over and extended his hand. "Good fight, have to do it more often."

Itachi smiled and grabbed him by the wrist, as did Ghost. "We definitely should."

Kisame appeared beside them. "You kiddies should really include me in this, we could've had so much fun."

Ghost's left eyebrow twitched. "adding you… would be overkill."

Kisame merely snorted.

Mayu joined the trio and gave them a nod. "Nice fight," she glanced over her shoulders to the others who were slowly walking over. "But the fun's over. Ghost I've got a high priority assignment for you…we'll continue this…in private" she said as she noticed the others join the small group.

Ghost nodded. "I'll see you guys later." And with that he flickered away, with Mayu following his example.

Kakashi joined the missing-nin and smiled. "amusing to watch, but I never would've thought that someone would be on your level of skill."

Itachi's piercing gaze met Kakashi's. "There are many shinobi more powerful than I. I don't know if Ghost is one of them but he's close. Then again…We didn't fight to our limit." He glanced at Sasuke and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Sasuke sneered and stepped forward. "Let's find out who's the stronger one then, Nii-san"

Itachi softly chuckled. "Maybe some other time, Sasuke." And tapped Sasuke on the forehead.

Sasuke's eyes widened in rage and his hands balled into fists. "I'm going to have my vengeance!"

Kakashi snapped his head to the left. "Take it easy, we got no time for this."

Sasuke swirled around and marched away. "I don't care"

Itachi broke his gaze from Sasuke' s retreating back and looked at Kisame. " let's get some food."

The nightmare he was reliving every single day wasn't been made easy by his little brother but he couldn't blame him. He tried to suppress the miserable feeling that slowly was making his way into his gut.

Killing his family was the one mistake he would pay for the rest of his life. But did the end justify the means? He'd like to think it did, but it didn't make him feel any better.

He heard Kisame's footsteps. "So what do you think his assignment will be?" Kisame asked.

Itachi thought about it for a couple of seconds before coming to the most logical conclusion. "either infiltration with the task to gain information, or infiltration followed up by Assassination."

"The kid's strong, I'll give him that but no way that he can take out the big bad wolf."

"I agree but it all depends on the situation."

"From what I heard from the bald guy, than that Reaver-guy can go toe to toe with most of us at the same time."

Itachi nodded. "That's why I doubt they'll send him on an suicide mission,"

Kisame noticed the subtle differences in both his expression and voice. It was almost completely unnoticeably and it would be if Kisame hadn't known the young man this long. "What are you thinking about?"

Itachi smiled and shook his head. "it's nothing. Come, let's eat."

xXx

Ghost looked over the file. "I accept." He said without hesitation, he shut the folder and gave it back to Mayu who sat opposite of him.

"You didn't even take a good look." She said incredulously.

"A chance at getting to know their troop movement, their base of operations and perhaps a chance to take down the big 'Lord Kenpachi himself', who wouldn't accept this assignment?"

"Ghost," She hesitated for a moment when Micheru and Hawke entered the room. "You'll be away for a long time."

Ghost shrugged. "whatever will end the war and gets me out of this village."

Hawke snickered. "So what's this about?"

"Long term infiltration mission." Was all Ghost said.

Micheru's eyebrows raised. "How long?"

Mayu looked at Ghost who didn't respond to the question. "depends on how well he does. But it can range from ten to fifteen months."

"fifteen months," She uttered and looked back at her mother. "That's too long! You can't accept, Ghost!"

"Already did." He responded dryly.

"But…fifteen months! You can't do this!" she half shouted with a pleading look in her eyes almost making him waver.

"I'm sorry Micheru, but at the moment I'm the only one who has a chance of pulling this off," he glanced down at his left arm. "besides since Akatsuki lost their inside man we have lost our eyes and ears on the inside."

Micheru looked down at the ground in defeat. "but…"

Ghost smiled. "Don't worry so much. I'll be back before you know it. Just make sure there's something I can get back to."

The blonde petite girl gave a sad smile. " When are you leaving?"

Ghost thought about for a second. "Hmmm, I guess somewhere tomorrow, or the day after that. First I have to find out what kind of person our prisoner is. What he looks like."

"you want to get a drink later?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure, I'll pick you up later tonight, sounds good?" he asked, ignoring Hawke's sudden change in demeanor when he heard the word 'drink'.

Micheru noticed as well and softly laughed. "you can come as well."

Hawke almost pumped his fist in the air but restrained himself. "Awesome! See you round 9!" and with that he exited the room a slight skip in his step.

Mayu pointed at his back with a confused look on her face. "a bit too cheery?"

"Hawke is still hurting because of Robatsu's death, he automatically shuts himself off and behaves conspicuously happy." Ghost could understand why Hawke felt how he felt, but that didn't mean he'd allow Hawke to choke on his depressing thoughts.

Ghost stood up from his chair, grabbing the folder along the way. "I'm heading for interrogation, gonna see what our 'friend' looks like."

He said his goodbye and headed for the door.

xXx

Ghost stood in front of the Reaver who was looking at him with disgust. Around his ankle and wrists were chains and on his chest and forehead was a seal that prevented him from using chakra.

The man was wearing dark red robes which was slightly torn. Ghost could see that his left leg was a complete mess it looked like the wounds were inflicted by what he guessed was Kisame's weapon. The man had black spiky hair similar to his only a lot shorter. He had a calculated look and a small scar on his right cheek. His lips were set in a tight grim line.

Ghost decided to start. "So…this must be embarrassing for you."

The man looked at him with narrowed eyes.

The blonde continued. "I mean being the only Reaver to ever be kidnapped."

The Reaver in question roared and tried to stand up and break free only to be pushed back by Ghost.

Ghost looked at him, his head tilted. "What's your name?"

The man ignored him and continued to struggle.

"What…is your name?" Ghost tried again.

"Why do you want to know, you'll just kill me afterwards"

Ghost shook his head. "We don't kill prisoners of war. Depending on your cooperation you could be released after this war is over."

The man snorted. "And I just have to believe that?"

Ghost shrugged. "We're not you we don't senselessly kill people."

The man stayed silent for a moment. "Kane Strap…the name's Kane Strap."

Ghost's eyes twinkled. "now we're getting somewhere," Ha walked around Kane until he stood behind him. "And tell me Kane, what is your rank?"

Kane in return hesitated but answered after a couple of seconds. "I'm a Shifter."

Ghost raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. "What's a Shifter? We know you have regulars an holder as your main force."

"Go to hell we're done talking." The Reaver hissed.

Ghost smirked and grabbed the man by his shoulder, digging his claw in his skin. "I know what a shifter is, it's a holder who can change between his demonic chakra and his own. What I also know is that when someone merges with a Demon his personality changes, causing the person to often give in to their blood lust."

Ghost released him and took his original spot in front of the man again. "A holder merges his mind with that of the demon, making him completely unreliable. Only a completely loyal person to your Lord would be able to keep his mind on a straight line. That's why only a few people gets to be chosen. How am I doing so far?"

Kane gritted his teeth. "How do you know all this?"

Ghost ignored him. "Shifters however have the ability to use either the Demonic chakra or their own."

"How…"

Ghost smirked and reached for a kunai. "I guessed" And with that he flicked his wrist and killed the man.

Seconds later Anko rushed in "What the fuck did you do that for?! He could've been a valuable source of intel!"

Ghost shrugged. "Reavers and long term interrogation don't go hand in hand. He would've found a way to escape."

"You don't know that, you idiot!" she shouted before being pinned to the wall by Ghost.

He looked her up and down and licked his lips. "You know, you're kinda hot when you're angry."

With her free hand she tried to push him away.

"You know, if you're not interested just say so…" he said and released her.

"You're a bastard you know that?" she hissed.

Ghost smiled. "I know, with a capital B, mind you."

"Fuck you," she spat. "I can't believe you were once the blonde brat from the Chunin exams."

Ghost chuckled. "That means no more one nighters?"

Anko sneered at him.

Ghost shrugged again and headed for the door. "shame…you're really hot"

He walked through the door and left Anko standing with an angry scowl on her face.

xXx

The night before Ghost's departure.

After having a couple of drinks with Rome, Micheru and Hawke he headed to the Hokage monument and found who he was looking for.

He sat down and looked down on the village. "It's really strange coming back here, helping to protect it while all I want to do is blow it up. Don't know how you can stand it, Itachi."

"I left because I killed my family not because I hated the village." Itachi softly responded.

Ghost stayed silent for a moment. "yeah...but I know that coming back here is eating you up inside. I don't know why you killed your family but I don't think it's worth price you're paying now."

Itachi didn't respond and Ghost leaned back and looked to the dark but clear sky.

"Itachi I'm not one to talk or anything but you should find happiness."

He heard a single chuckle escape Itachi's lips. "We're both destined for darkness."

Ghost in responded by shaking his head. "I don't believe that."

"How could we…Naruto, we both did horrible things. When we finally depart from this world I dare not think about what awaits us."

Ghost let out a humorless laugh. "That's why I didn't let you in on the Irosa massacre. When we both end down there at least you won't be alone."

"Liar"

Ghost snorted. "When we decided to massacre the village I knew who much you reflected upon your act here in Konoha, That's why Kisame and I agreed that you shouldn't have to relive that."

Itachi turned his head to the blonde who in return met his gaze. "You're a good friend, Naruto."

Ghost laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know about that…"

Itachi looked over the village and a lone tear slid down his face. "It was because of you."

Ghost immediately understood what he was talking about but wanted elaboration. "what? Why?"

The Uchiha clan was planning a coup d'état with you as the tip of their spear. They we're going to release the Kyuubi in Konoha, and when Konoha was weak and disorganized they would pull Kyuubi out and march in and kill whatever was left."

Ghost's eyebrow's furrowed. "only Madara can control the Kyuubi and last time he only got his hands on it because the seal was weakened…so what was his plan?"

"there are two stages in a Jinchuuriki's life where they are vulnerable. Around the time when they are three and start developing chakra coils to the point where a tailed beast could take advantage of it."

"that shouldn't be possible…" Ghost muttered.

"why not? Anger triggers his Chakra and The Uchiha could've given you that push easily." Itachi pointed out.

"and three guesses who would've helped them with controlling the Kyuubi…"

"Madara" Was all his friend said.

"It's still strange to believe that. Kyuubi told me that it was Madara who put him on a leash."

"Don't worry about the past, focus on the present, we got enough trouble as it is."

Ghost grinned and nodded.

They continued talking for a while, sipping from the bottle of Sake that Ghost had 'borrowed' from the bar. And when it was getting late and they both decided to call it a night was when Itachi decided on the subject Hawke had started earlier.

"Ghost…or Naruto?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

At first Ghost pretended he didn't hear that but it was a fair question, one that needed an answer. "I guess Naruto."

Itachi smiled. "That's been a long time ago hasn't it?"

Naruto simply nodded.

"Well, Naruto, I'll see you tomorrow when you leave, be careful."

Naruto smirked. "When aren't I?"

Itachi stood up as did Naruto and they both walked to the village remaining silent most of the time. And when they finally reached a crossing in the village when they both gave a nod to each other and went their separate ways.

If it were up to Naruto he would've kept the name Ghost for the rest of his life. Kurama had given him that title. It had taken him a long time to finally earn Kurama's respect and friendship. The name Ghost was more of a name to him than Naruto was.

"Oi, Naruto"

He closed his eyes in defeat and annoyance. He was already hating it and word hadn't even start spreading yet. "What do you want, Inuzuka?"

Kiba walked up beside him. "So what's been going on in that head of yours?"

"Well I mainly think about how I can get you guys off my back," he nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah that's it."

"Well, I hoped we could chat about what happened at the arena." Kiba said, trying to ignore the blunt response to his question.

"This again? It's quite simple, I tried to kill you, failed miserable and now I have to life with the consequences and believe me they aint pretty."

Kiba looked at him with a puzzled expression. The only reason he was talking to the teme was because his friends told him to. He hated Naruto with a passion after the whole arena ordeal. But he also believed in their optimism that they could get Naruto to his old self if they continued to put pressure on him. "What do you mean? What consequences."

Naruto sighed. "Well you're still here aren't you? I'd say that be described as a pain in my ass and labeled as a consequence."

Kiba sneered and spat on the ground. "Fuck you, Naruto. I don't know what we've done to make you like this but if you don't tell what it is then you can go to hell."

Naruto smirked and shook his head. "If you don't know that than you can ask Shikamaru, I suspect he already figured it by now." He turned around and continued to walk down the road.

"for once stop being a fucking asshole and tell me straight to my face what your problem is!" Kiba growled and grabbed Naruto by the shoulder.

The blonde Hunter slowly turned around his smirk gone and was replaced by a cold emotionless face. "If you want to keep your hand I suggest you let go. Now."

Kiba let go and backed up. "screw this." He turned around and walked away.

"Bye bye" Naruto waved at the Inuzuka's retreating back.

"You know, that's not really nice" a soft female voice said.

He turned around and saw Hinata standing, as he noticed before she had done a complete one eighty. She was wearing a Jounin outfit an had her hair tied in a ponytail. From what he remembered from last time was that she was no longer the shy little girl but a calm young woman who didn't hesitate to speak her mind.

"Well, he's not a nice person." Naruto pointed out.

Hinata pursed her lips together. "From what I heard you don't like any of us."

"exactly!"

Hinata walked over and sat down on a bench and patted the empty seat beside her. At first he hesitated but decided to go with the flow. He sat down next to her with a relaxed posture.

Hinata spoke first. "I know why you're angry."

The missing-nin tilted his head. "is that so?"

He waited for a moment but when Hinata didn't respond he sighed. "speak, before I leave, I have better things to do than listen to your assumptions."

"What do I get if I'm right?" she said with a smirk.

"I won't tear you a new one for wasting my time when I clearly have better things to do."

Hinata chuckled which slightly put Naruto off his game. Usually people grew angry at his cold and bastard demeanor.

"You're angry at us for not helping you when you needed us the most." Hinata said as she looked in his blue eyes.

Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's unbelievable, there is someone in this dump who actually thinks before speaking," He stood back up. "I trusted you to have my back and you didn't. For that I can never forgive you."

"I want to make amends" she said with a slightly raised voice.

"By the time you actually get there I'm most likely six feet under, for real this time!" he said cheerily and with a wave he rounded the corner.

"you want to wager on it?" she half shouted now, not bothering to get up.

He didn't respond so she followed trail and when she rounded the same corner she saw a small note plastered on the wall. She grabbed it and read.

Sure, I'll bet on it. See you when I get back.

"See you when I get back?" she said aloud. What the heck did he mean with that?

xXx

Naruto smirked to himself. He was never going to forgive them. But for the sake of the mission he could at least act on a professional level, somewhat.

He rounded another corner and saw the apartment he was heading for. He walked over and opened the door and stepped in. he walked up the stairs to the second floor and walked to the door. He opened it and stepped inside walking straight into the living room.

He let out a small chuckle when he noticed everything was dark. He walked to the bedroom and saw that the door was open.

"Took you long enough." A female voice said.

He pulled off the top of his outfit and his shirt underneath. "Yeah, well I had planned to getting here sooner if it weren't for your buddies who were keep getting in my way."

She snorted. "Hit them if they don't go away, works for me."

"I'll keep that in mind."

He jumped on bed and the woman quickly straddled his lap. "you're going to pay for making me wait." She said with an evil smirk plastered on her face.

Naruto gave a smirk of his own, "Last time we spoke you pretty much told me to fuck off because you found out who I was."

"Yeah well, you're still a good fuck so don't complain you idiot."

"Whatever, enough talking you crazy bitch and if you bite me again like last time, I am going to hurt you."

The purple haired woman grinned evilly. "We'll see"

xXx

Naruto walked to the main gate of Konoha, Wearing a dark red robe with a metal plate on his left shoulder. The metal claw he always wore was lying in his room in the headquarters. Reavers didn't use equipment of that sort and it wouldn't help his undercover assignment. He glanced to his left to look at Kisame and Itachi who were silently walking beside him.

When they arrived he noticed that all the members of the Akatsuki as well as all the Hunters were waiting for him there. He also noticed a couple of Konoha familiars who he blatantly ignored. "Come to see me off are we?" he asked, nodding to Hawke.

"you would look like a complete loner if we didn't so...yea" Hawke said with a grin.

Naruto just shook his head in amusement and turned to Mayu and Rome. "I'm ready."

"Zake care Naru'o, 'e will watch for your return" Raipa said in his odd accent.

Naruto slapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't take any risk and when you even suspect your cover is blown, make a run for it." Rome advised him while he gave him a hug.

"Risks? I wouldn't dare" Naruto said with a smile.

"Please come back…I don't think I can handle Hawke on my own. " Micheru said in a small voice as she looked at the ground.

Naruto reached out and gave her a hug. "Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you," and while she softly laughed he whispered something in her ear. "Keep an eye out on Itachi and Hawke for me."

He stepped back and she nodded with a smile.

"Naruto, we haven't always seen eye to eye but if you don't come back to us I'm going to seriously hurt you." Mayu said which put him off since he never heard her talk like that.

He winked. "You guys worry too much." He nodded to the Akatsuki members who gave a few nods in return and he spared a single glance to the Konoha nin who were disappointed that all he did was give them a glance.

"See you guys later." And he gave Kisame and Itachi one last nod before he turned his back to them. he slid one foot back and breathed in deeply.

"Naruto!" a female voice shouted.

Naruto only looked to his left and saw Hinata running over. He smirked and gave her a two fingered salute before exhaling deeply and disappeared in a flash.

Her smile dropped as soon as it had come and stood rigid to the ground.' _Where has he gone off to? and why was he wearing that?'_

* * *

><p>And that's that! Next chapter will take place about a year after the events of this chapter.<p>

The whole thing with Naruto and the Uchiha massacre thing was sucked straight outta my thumb so live with me with the whole Kyuubi part.


	21. Chapter 21: Shinigami Itself

Hello guiiiissss here's chapter 21! We're really getting into the long haul aren't we?

Been waiting for the fricking anime fillers to stop they just keep extending it! Ah well at least we have IWBAG to keep us company :)

Reviewers:

Bankai777: *wink wink wink*

Tedlay: sorry that it took so long! Here you go!`

Bethlovesall: than I hope this one will satify you as well! Thanks for reviewing, Beth!

Mirageking: you'll find out, wheeeee! :D

TheSilverNinetales: sorry that it's taking so long I hope you can forgive me!

Ezra Scarlet: Naruto will stay the some more or less regarding the fact that he got away from them for a while to calm a bit down. And yeah Naruto will be 21ish

Trak The Cat: there isn't much to tell about his assignment but you'll know that soon enough ;)

ermda: what happened during his undercover assignment will be in this chapter!

Kairi-kun: :D its a lot of fun to write about those two :P the council...hmmmmmmmm :P

Paracuties: I told everyone that this will be a Naruhina story and that will be just that, just no what everyone expects of it. as for Kakashi's OOC, yes he is a bit out of character but we dont know how they would've actually reacted if Sasuke came back and him and Naruto both continued with their fighting even after the whole retrieval mission. as for Naruto's massacre, that will be explained pretty soon :)

Madslasher: *gulps* I'm glad i satisfied your needs...for now. pfoee

entityoffire: thanks for the review! i'm glad you enjoyed it!

guest123: Naruto's coldness has to do with the struggles he had the past 7 years which some have been explained and some yet to be explained.

Some dude: yea i wasnt satisfied with the fight as well. ah well sometimes it happens.

Pyrophoricity: i'll try my very best!

The-son-of-kami: what exactly do you mean by that? :D

strongbridge: You have to wait no longer then!

Roxu: I'm glad you like his attitude so much :) it's so much fun to write him like this.

NarutoPANDAAA: well i dont know, tell me after this chapter! thanks for the review though!

TKM: of course i am still writing! i'll not stop until this story is finished!

LordHatredX: yay! thank you for your nice words!

alright let's do this!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**Because of the undercover assignment, Naruto's name will be Kane until further notice.**

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 21**

* * *

><p>~ Chapter 21 - Shinigami itself ~<p>

Nine months later

Kane walked around the base giving a nod to a few of the passerby´s and shoving a lowly recruit out of the way. He scratched the beard around his mouth and smirked. He knew that a beard wasn't his style but he had seen a picture of the real Kane and saw that he preferred this style. _'I have to behave as much like the man as possible.' _

He cleared his mind and entered a building that used to be a bar but was now used as one of the many barracks within Nami No Kuni.

The bar was now used to stash various sorts of equipment and there were a couple of large tables in the room. He saw the one he was looking for and marched over.

The person he was looking for was playing some poker with some of the other guys and didn´t notice him and was sitting relaxed.

Kane suppressed a sneer and instead grabbed the back of the chair he was sitting on and roughly pulled it away from underneath him.

"What the fu-!" the man shouted as he fell to the ground.

"Shut the hell up you sorry excuse for a Reaver! What the fuck is this?" Kane sneered and threw a file in his lap.

"M-my report, Sir!" the man stuttered as he hastily got back up his feet and snapped to attention as did the others who were sitting around the table.

"This pile of shit ain't a report; this is a fucking diary. Do it again!" Kane ordered with satisfaction.

"Yes sir!" The man said and tried to reach for his pile of money.

"Oh no, you leave that, that's your punishment for screwing up."

The man's eyes darted to his friends at the table but they stayed silent so he left quickly.

Kane turned to the guys at the table. "He's got quite a stack."

"Yes sir, he did." One of them said.

Kane sat down and grabbed the cards the man had left behind. "Let's see what he's got."

Flashback, day of arrival at Nami No Kuni.

Kane arrived at the hastily repaired bridge where they had set up a gate. The guards at the gate looked at him before one held up his hand.

"Identification."

Kane reached in his robes and gave a small round object which Konoha specialists had identified as their means of identification.

"Kane Strap, member of squad Alpha-14," one of the guards read, he softly asked something in his headset and waited a couple of moments before he received a response.

"Shifter Strap, you are requested at the headquarters immediately." The guard ordered as he handed him the round badge back.

"Will do, now let me through." Kane said as he remembered the way how Kane Strap always acted rather aggresive.

They opened the gate and Kane strolled through, resisting the urge to rub the bandages underneath his shirt. They wanted to make his identity complete so Kisame offered to make some lacerations on his chest and back to make his story more believable. It wasn't enjoyable.

It was then that a sudden realization hit him. _'I don't have any clue where their headquarters might be.'_

He glanced around and no one even gave him a spare glance, the lower ranks however gave him a wide birth.

Kane decided to act his role from what he remembered from his interrogation and the memories the Yamanaka had shown him, and pointed to a random Reaver. "You, show me where the Headquarters is located."

"Sir?" the woman asked in confusion

"Don't make me repeat that question; I don't need to explain myself to you"

"I apologize, sir! This way!" with that the female Reaver took the lead.

A couple of minutes later they arrived at the Mayors house and Kane had to restrain himself from slapping himself in the face for his stupidity. He nodded to the Regular and stepped inside.

He was immediately greeted by three guards who repeated the question that were asked him at the gate and after showing him his credentials one led the way to a large room what Kane presumed was once the dining hall.

The first thing he noticed was that there was a constant pressure on his body and mind which unnerved him. He didn't let it show however and walked towards the man who was looking out the window, his back to Kane.

As he walked over he could see a couple of men and women softly talking to each other, glancing in his direction every so often. The imposter's breath hitched in his throat when the large man who was looking out the window spoke up.

"You're late." The way he spoke with pure authority in his voice and the aura he exuded made Kane completely aware of who was in front of him.

Lord Kenpachi.

Kane immediately fell to one knee, his head bowed low. "I'm sorry, Lord Kenpachi"

Kenpachi turned around, his black robes twirled with him. The man had a calm and calculated look; his eyes were dark green and cold as ice. _'He must have more years of experience in combat than I have years in my life'_

"Why are you late?" Kenpachi asked as he looked Kane over.

Kane kept his eyes on the ground, not daring to look him in the eye. "One of the Akatsuki almost had me, he hurt me badly, and I couldn't escape through our regular means. I had to hide and wait to recover."

"Look at me"

Kane swallowed nervously, he slowly looked up and into the leader's eyes and what he saw and felt was pure terror. That man embodied pain and death. He remembered when he noticed the demonic chakra within Lasting, but that was nothing compared to what this man carried. It was like he was looking at the Shinigami itself.

It was something he had never felt before.

As Kane continued to gaze into Kenpachi's eyes he felt like he was completely naked and that there wasn't a lie that he could hide.

'_Get your act together! If Kurama would see me now how would tell me what kind of disgrace I am.' _Ghost narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sir?"

Kenpachi continued to look at him for a few seconds longer before he broke contact. "Are you still able to fight?" while he said that he signaled for his men to leave the room

"Always, sir."

Kenpachi nodded once. "Good. From what I heard from Lasting was that the mission was a failure and that the Hunters still live"

Kane looked down to the ground, trying to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Lord Kenpachi. Give me my punishment and I'll accept it without hesitation."

Kenpachi chuckled softly. "Why should I punish my own son for a mission I was afraid he wouldn't return from? I'm glad you yet live."

Kane's jaw mentally dropped to the ground. _'I killed his son?'_

Present day, Konoha.

Hawke and Sasori watched as the Jounin from Konoha trained themselves to their limit. At first it seemed like it was a waste of time, it especially seemed that way for the men and women of Konoha but after seeing the results first hand from people like Sasuke and Neji they quickly changed their mind.

"Well at least they're not as worthless as they were when we got here." Sasori noted.

Hawke nodded. "They improved all right. I'd say that a four man Jounin squad could take out a Holder if they work together well enough."

"That's a big if." Sasori grunted.

"There are a few exceptions of course. "Sasuke Uchiha, could go toe to toe with a holder although the outcome wouldn't be certain. Neji Hyuuga is also someone who could perhaps take out one of them." Hawke who had his hair grown out a bit rubbed his chin while pondering their capabilities.

Ever since Pein and Konan had returned to Ame to prepare for the onslaught things had been suspiciously at ease. After the Reaver's failed attempt to take out key figures in Konoha's defense they resorted to an all-out assault on their defensive lines, and at first it looked like they were breaking through.

That was until Pein entered the field.

_Pein calmly looked at the battle in front of him and noticed that the Reavers had come in force and that their forces were being pushed back. He noticed a lowly Reaver recruit dashing towards him and he responded appropriately. "Shinra tensei" the man was blasted away only to be replaced by half a dozen more._

"_This has been going on long enough," he slammed his hand on the ground and softly said. "Kuchiyose: Gedō Mazō"_

_Konan who had been fighting nearby noticed the ground trembling and her eyes widened in fear. "No!"_

_A statue the likes of which was never seen emerged from the ground and roared at the enemies in front of it._

_The Reavers in return hadn't seen anything like this before jumped back while one of the Shifters in charge used a summoning of his own."_ _Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A large dragon appeared in a puff of smoke and let out a terrifying roar of its own only to be slammed down by a large claw like hand._

_Pein merely pointed and the Demonic statue obliterated everyone in its path. The Konoha shinobi had pulled out just in time because it seemed like the demon couldn't separate friend from foe._

_With no other option left, the Reavers pulled out cursing their foes to hell and beyond._

_Hundreds of Reavers were slain that day while Konoha's forces were in the dozens._

_Pein released his jutsu and the moment he did he fell to his knee, coughing up blood._

"_Are you okay?" Konan asked as she helped him up, supporting him by putting an arm around his waist._

_At first Pein wanted to shrug her off but decided against it and merely nodded._

Hawke shuddered. That man, Pein was one of the few who could actually go up against Kenpachi. And to think that this man used to be an enemy to the hidden villages made him even more intimidating.

Hawke couldn't help but think about the Reaver's advancement through their nations. It wasn't going as fast as the Reaver's would have liked but still.

They had underestimated the Shinobi world and it had cost them dearly.

xXx

Five months later.

Kane resisted against the grip of his guards. He still couldn´t believe this was happening. The day had started like any other; get up, scold a recruit or two and be on his merry way. That was until he found out about the plans to invade Kumogakure. He had made a copy of the files and strategic layout. It all went good until he was restrained from all sides.

'_This is not going to end well at all…'_

Someone pushed him down on the ground and all he could do was glare. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"What's going on?" a calm voice asked.

Kenpachi walked out of one of the tents and saw Kane lying on the ground. "There better be a very good reason for this."

"Absolutely sir!" one of the men half stuttered. "This man was caught stealing strategic plans regarding the Kumo invasion!"

Kenpachi looked from the man back to Kane on the ground. A flicker of fear crossed his face before it was replaced by rage. "Then that means that my son is dead…"

Kane's eye widened in surprise. 'Oh_ fuck…'_

Kenpachi walked over and pulled Kane to his feet using the front of his shirt. "Did you kill my son?"

Before Kane could respond Kenpachi punched him in the face and all Kane in return could do was clutch his face in absolute pain as he was skidding across the ground.

That man had the same strength of Tsunade. _ 'And he isn't transformed yet…'_

"Did you kill my **son?" **Kenpachi asked as slowly his voice was morphing.

Kane darted from the left to the right. _'Fuck it.' _He dropped his Henge which caused the Reavers except for Kenpachi to shout in surprise.

"You!" one shouted and stepped through the crowd that had formed. "Lord Kenpachi, that's Ghost! I fought him in Konoha."

Kenpachi glanced towards his subordinate, Lasting before nodding. "This is Hunter Ghost, and from the reports you've given me he has the same ability we have?"

**A/N: Naruto will no longer be named Kane from now on!**

Naruto looked from the left to the right. He was completely surrounded. "That's right Kenpa, you're not the only one with a trick up his sleeve.

Kenpachi tilted his head at Naruto's chosen nickname for him. "Quite cocky aren't we?"

Naruto stood back up and he instantly got shoved in the back. "It works for me I suppose" he shrugged.

Kenpachi walked around him, looking him up and down. "You're quite calm for someone who's about to die."

"Who said anything about **dying?**" Naruto's voice morphed and dark chakra swirled around his lower arm.

"I do" and with that Kenpachi disappeared with flash step and tried to ram his hand through Naruto's chest only to hit nothing but air.

People shouted and then used flashstep as well, trying desperately to follow Naruto.

Kenpachi looked from the left to the right until he found the chakra signature which resembled a beacon and disappeared.

He appeared a couple of feet away from Naruto in the middle of nowhere. Naruto; who was preparing another flashstep, got rudely interrupted by a kick to his face which slammed him through a nearby tree.

"**Fuck me…"** Naruto muttered and dove out of the way, barely dodging Kenpachi's follow up.

Naruto appeared behind him and jackhammered him into the ground but before he could escape with flashstep a hand grabbed him by one of his ankles and made him fall to the ground.

Before he knew what happened he got elbowed in the face and groaned in pain.

Kenpachi gave him no time to catch his breath and grabbed him by the ankle again and threw him like a rag doll through the air.

Naruto crashed into the ground and back flipped onto his feet. _'There's no way I got a chance against him."_

Pumping even more chakra in it he disappeared with another flashstep and used then tried to use another but this time an old opponent crossed his path and kicked him in the back causing him to stumble forward.

Naruto quickly formed a Rasengan and slammed it into Lasting who flew backwards, only to have his spot filled by Kenpachi who had red chakra swirling around his hand.

'_That's the same attack Lasting used in Kono-' _ Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when Kenpachi blasted him away with the red chakra.

"**Goddamn!" **Naruto cursed as he tried to get back to his feet. He spat out a mouthful of blood and formed a single handsign. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" the area immediately got filled with white smoke and dozens of shadow clones appeared.

Naruto gave Kenpachi a two fingered salute. **"Take care Kenpa, we'll do this again soon!" **and with that all the clones including the original disappeared.

Kenpachi looked from the left to the right and sighed. "Lasting."

Immediately Lasting appeared in front of Kenpachi on one knee. "What is it my Lord?"

"I want all available resources spent on finding him, do I make myself clear?"

"Right away, sir." Lasting answered and nodded with his head.

Don't fail me…" Kenpachi almost whispered.

xXx

Naruto stopped once he was sure he was miles away from Kenpachi and fell to his knees almost immediately. _'That man… what is he? I managed to get a few hits in but that was because he allowed it, he was toying with me the whole time.'_

Naruto released the demonic chakra and he could feel the after effects of the fight already creeping in. it was as if his other chakra kept it at bay for a short while.

The blonde looked down at his outfit which was heavily damaged during the fight. There was tearing almost everywhere but he knew it would keep in place until he reached Konoha.

If he did it correctly then he could be at Konoha with two steps. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He exhaled and took a single step forward.

During his flash step he could make out a single image of fire and smoke and bodies littered around. _'It must be the border of Nami No Kuni and Konoha.'_

When he arrived at the end of his first step, he immediately took another step and moments later he arrived in front of the gates of Konoha.

Within seconds he was surrounded by shinobi.

Naruto looked from his left to his right with raised eyebrows. "Improvement, I guess that's a good thing."

Before the shinobi could do anything he held up his hand in as a sign of trust. "Relax; I'm one of you guys."

One of the Shinobi, a Chunin Naruto assumed scoffed. "Yeah, like we're going to believe that."

Naruto rubbed his forehead before coughing up another handful of blood. "Just ask her." He pointed to someone behind them.

xXx

Hinata walked towards the gates where her Genin team was supposed to be waiting for her. Kurenai, who had managed to convince her that she'd make an excellent Jounin instructor and a shining example for the future generation, and after much doubtful thoughts she decided to go for it.

It didn't matter what her father had told her about her lack of skill. She had stopped listening to that man a long time ago, especially after having trained underneath Hawke and Sasori for a whole year.

They had told her that even though her Byakugan had numerous advantages along with her trademark Jūken she still should learn some skills that weren't related to her clan's fighting abilities.

And so she did, and it had been tough. The first weeks were correcting her mistakes by automatically taking up her Jūken stance. But slowly she advanced and became an even more competent Jounin, one that go toe to toe with a holder.

"-ask her"

She was pulled from her thoughts and saw a man standing in front of the gates, surrounded by shinobi.

One or two turned their head towards her and gave her a questioning look but the rest kept their gaze on Naruto.

Naruto spat out another mouthful of blood and groaned. He finally knew what that attack was. It was similar to his 'Chakra push' attack but instead of using regular chakra they used the demon's one. They had simply called it 'the wave'.

"Naruto, is that you?"

Naruto gave a small smile and nodded. "How you doing, Hinata?"

She ran over and tried to hug him only for him to take couple of steps back. She gave him a questioning look, one he faced with a cold look of his own.

Naruto turned his attention back to the guards. "Satisfied?"

"No, you could be disguising yourself." One said.

"You really are as stupid as you look." Naruto snapped as he motioned with his hand to his outfit.

"You can let him through." a voice said.

Naruto looked over the shoulder of the man he was insulting and saw Kakashi leaning against the gate.

The Chunin stepped aside and the blonde walked through the gates. "I have to speak to Mayu immediately."

"What did you hear?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto was about to responded until another wave of pain hit him. He winced and he rubbed his chest hoping to ease the pain.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked with a worried voice. "Perhaps we should take you to the hospital and check you out."

Ghost shook his head and continued.

Kakashi looked him over. "Are you sure? You look like crap."

"Kakashi, your concern is duly noted." Sarcasm and exhaustion laced the blonde's voice.

Kakashi smiled. "Glad to see you haven't changed."

His answer was silence.

Kakashi tried again. "Nice beard."

Naruto groaned and covered his face with hands. _'This is going to be a long day…'_

xXx

They entered the Hokage tower only to be halted by someone.

"Naruto! It took you long enough jeesh!" the man dressed in a Hunter's outfit stepped forward.

Naruto looked at the man and grinned. "Hawke, it's been a while." He stepped forward as well and embraced him in a brotherly hug.

"What's up with the beard?" Hawke asked as he stepped back and took in Naruto's appearance.

"It had to be done." The blonde answered as he along with the others walked up the stairs heading for the Hokage's office.

"What is he like?" Hawke asked earning the other's curiosity as well."

Naruto stayed silent as they ascended the stairs.

"That bad?" Kakashi asked.

"No," Naruto suddenly said and shook his head. "He's strong but he hasn't shown his true power yet."

"What did he show?" Hawke asked as they rounded a corner and walked over to the door to the Hokage's office.

Naruto smirked. "All he showed me was how he beat me, and with ease."

Hawke responded by knocking on the door and opening it. "Guess who I found wandering the hall of the tower."

The people inside looked to the newcomers and one or two laughed.

Naruto stepped inside and gave them a nod. "I already regret being here."

One of the elder women in the room laughed. "You'll never change"

"You know me too well, Mayu-sama" Naruto said with a small smile and a nod.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with a smile but had to restrain herself from running over and hugging him tightly. "Good to have you back"

Naruto gave her a single nod and looked at Pein who was standing to her right and had travelled to Konoha to discuss matters.

"Did you meet Kenpachi?" Rome asked as he embraced Naruto in a hug.

Naruto looked to the ground. "I did"

"Naruto?" someone asked.

Naruto turned his attention to the door and saw Micheru standing with a wide smile on her face. "Hey, Micheru."

She ran over and hugged him tightly which made the Blonde Hunter chuckle. "Missed me?" he asked.

She stepped back and looked him in the eyes before laughing. "Of course I did!" She playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"You were saying? " Rome asked. He knew that look. It was the same look he had when he had met Kenpachi.

"I met the man, and he's tough alright." Naruto truthfully answered

Rome looked at him with a narrowed eye. "You looked him in the eyes didn't you?"

Naruto's eye met Rome's and nodded. "I did"

"What did you see?"

The others in the room looked at Rome with a questioning gaze.

"What do you me-" Tsunade asked but Naruto interrupted her.

"All is saw in his eyes were death and suffering. Who is this man?" Naruto softly asked.

Rome shrugged with his shoulders and shook his head at the same time. "I have no idea. Suddenly he was there with an army so large that nothing could withstand it."

"Until now" Kakashi said."

"It is true that we have done what hasn't been done before," Mayu agreed with slight hesitation. "But I still have the feeling that they are holding back."

"Well the families of the deceased wouldn't agree with you."

"Yeah, well I didn't come back to discuss Kenpachi with you. My cover was blown after I retrieved some of their battle plans." Naruto then continued to explain what had happened and what he had found.

Rome cursed. "This complicates things. The Raikage should've listened to us."

Naruto gritted his teeth as the last waves of pain in his chest slowly disappeared. "It's too late for ´the what ifs?´ We need to act. What is Konoha's combat strength?"

Tsunade looked to Shikaku who silently watched the conversation. He stepped forward and joined in. "When they started to attack our borders, we had 15.400 combat able Shinobi. We've fought for little over a year now. In that time we have lost 4910 men."

"And how many of those shinobi that are still alive are stationed in Konoha or on defensive points in the land of fire?" Naruto asked.

Shikaku double-checked before answering. "We have 8500 men in the Land of Fire."

"So that means you have around 1900 men stationed in other countries. Not to mention at choke points around the land of fire. " Hawke mused.

Shikaku nodded. "That's right."

"We have to send men." Mayu concluded.

"You're right but we can't send everything we have. And if we send too few we'll not make a difference."

"We need more help." Tsunade whispered which earned her a nod from the people in the room.

"The Tsuchikage has to pull his men out of Iwagakure." Naruto said suddenly.

"The man only has a couple of hundred left! That won't make much of a difference."

"We have united most of the Shinobi nations; we don't have to act alone. Notify the other Kages and we'll make sure everyone does their part." The Nara said.

"If Kumo falls, the Reavers will take the advantage and take their second major stronghold,"Pein said as he finally joined the conversation, startling a few. "I will send some of my agents with you to help in the defense."

"Hokage, I don't know when the invasion is starting the details weren't in the file I brought with me, "he grabbed the file from beneath his cloak and threw it on her desk. "But we have to send men in advance."

It was Rome who spoke up first. "I agree and since this will be one hell of a fight I'm sending everyone, Hawke notify Hitoshi. I want him and his brother in this fight as well, they've waited long enough."

"Oh boy, that'll be interesting." Hawke said which earned him a chuckle from Naruto.

Rome turned to Naruto. "I know you're probably exhausted but are you combat able?"

Naruto gave him a rare grin. "I'm always combat able."

Rome smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Good, gear up we're leaving in two."

Tsunade watched the interaction and couldn't help but feel proud at Naruto's stubbornness. At times it annoyed her but it was a perk that not many people had. She couldn't imagine the blonde without it.

Hour and a half later

Naruto smirked from underneath his hood. He glanced at the metal claw that once again was comfortably in place around his hand. His pulled the facemask over his nosee and mentally sighed, how he missed his outfit. _'This is who I am, a Hunter through and through._

He sat down a bench and looked over at the rapidly assembled men and women. Tsunade had ordered 2000 shinobi to assist in Kumo's defense.

He looked down at his unsheathed katana. He slowly and without much of a thought slid the whet stone over the blade, it calmed him.

"Naruto."

The Hunter looked up and saw Itachi walked over.

"What happened to you?" The blonde asked as he pointed to his face.

"Just a scratch" Itachi said as he explained how he got the X shaped scar on his cheek.

Naruto stood up and gripped Itachi's shoulder while the Uchiha did the same. "How are you?" the younger one asked.

"As good as someone can be during an invasion I guess." The Uchiha responded with a small smile.

"Good to see you again my friend." Naruto softly said.

"How was it?" Itachi asked with slight concern.

"It wasn't bad, but that guy…Kenpachi…I dunno I've never seen someone who closely resembles him."

Itachi didn't know how to respond and instead sat down next to him.

"Where's Kisame?" Naruto asked as he looked around trying to find the large man.

"He's actually on an assignment, so he won't be joining us."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What kind of assignment?"

"Pein-sama sent him on a mission to gather rogue shinobi."

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Naruto could see why Pein would order something like that and it would be even more amusing to see the missing shinobi enter Konoha with full pardon all around.

"Hopefully the Kages won't complain."

"Alright let's go!" a familiar voice said.

Naruto looked up and saw none other than Sasuke Uchiha leading the Shinobi forces. _'I hope the teme knows what he's doing'_ He stood up and walked to the gates where the rest were assembling.

He looked at his fellow Hunters and noticed that Micheru was clad in black as well, it was the first time she was wearing the full outfit.

"Naruto, I want you to leave a clone behind and use your flash step ability to scout ahead and see if they are setting up their defenses," Rome turned to Naruto. "if you encounter trouble just disperse your clone."

"Alright see you soon." And with that he disappeared.

xXx

After using several more flashsteps he arrived at the gates of Kumo, who were surrounded by tall mountains.

But what struck him by surprise weren't the mountains. The gates of Kumo were completely destroyed. "Fuck… this isn't good." flames and explosion erupted just behind the gates and he knew there wasn't any time left.

"You are right about that."

Naruto turned and his eyes widened. In front of him stood a force the size he had never seen before. "That's a pretty big army you got there. " He said as he slowly took a couple of steps backward.

A couple of the Reavers laughed but most sneered at the sight of his outfit.

He quickly took another flashstep and entered the village and almost stumbled over one of the bodies that were littering the ground. He looked up and saw that the defenders of Kumo were trying their very best to push back the assailants.

"Wheeeeeee!" someone screamed before three enemies came crushing into a building next to the Blonde hunter.

"What the…" Naruto softly said.

A broad man jumped on the ground. He had white hair and goatee which gave him an intimidating yet amusing look.

"Have no fear! Lord eight tails is here! Wheeee!" and with that he summoned one of the eight tails and slammed a couple of lowly Reaver grunts away and over the wall.

* * *

><p>That's chapter 21 I hope you all enjoyed it :)<p>

Im sorry that I can't do weekly updates but I'm rather busy with some real life issues!

as for my Halo/Mass effect crossover, it will have to be on hold until this story is nearing it's finish, i'm sorry!


	22. Chapter 22: The battle for Kumogakure!

Heya guys and girls! Almost one month ago I updated last and although it's not extensively late it's still too long for my taste so I'll try and improve that with the next chapter :)

I know people are still complaining about the NaruHina pairing and I'm sorry but its set in stone and already added several factors. I personally think that even the NaruHina haters will like this ;D

Also I will try and give the Konoha characters more spot light because I tend to give Naruto most of the screen time so to speak. Yes he's the main character I still could improve on that!

On to the Reviews wheeeee!

Asheza: thanks for the compliment! I appreciate it! As a thank you I give you this chapter as a gift! *wink*

Bankai777: although I hadn't had it planned, I might add them in a small filler arc. Yes, I plan on adding a filler arc which will be explained after the reviews :)

Roboguy45: you will find out here!

Ezra Scarlet: that's actually where my thoughts trailed off to when I started thinking about the leader of the Reavers. I imagined him like Kenpachi from Bleach but instead of a crazy all out kind of guy I wanted this one to be calm and collected.

The three Stoogies: here you goooo! :D

Erching: No worries I have it all planned out! I wouldn't create an army this big if I hadn't had it all sorted out!

Shorty the Great: chaos! That's what will happen next muahahahahaha! Killer bee won't have much screen time in this chapter unfortunately, exactly only very little but that will change next chapter! (because if I added it in this chapter it would've reached like8/10k and then you'd guys and girls be waiting even longer)

Pyrophoricity: Thank you for reviewing! And yeah war is spreading along all borders slowly but steadily *evil grin*

Guest 5/6/13: I'm sorry you feel that way, you may feel its overused and maybe it is, but I will do it differently ;) don't give up yet!

Guest 5/8/13: sorry he only had a short intro here!

Crispybaconlove: yes he did! Check this link watch?v=T8oskgDvBr8 (technically not allowed but meh) and go to around 7:54 ish :D  
>anyways, thanks for the compliment I'm a sucker for compliments haha.<p>

Darknesskitsune1235: It won't, don't worry Kitsune! (also pm'd you about it ;) )

Trak The Cat: I made it worse ;) gotta love evil thoughts!

Insaneclouwn: glad you likeeee it wheeee! Here's the chaptee! (r)

Paracuties: I got so annoyed that everyone kept forgiving Konoha and crap in their fanfictions, ugh it makes me sick :P

STR8UP187: it helps evolve the plot and to add character interaction, if you don't like it then I'm sorry and I hope you'll enjoy the other many stories on fanfiction. If you do however decide to tag along I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Trigun (both reviews yay): You have to understand though that even though he understand why Naruto did what he did, Naruto also pretty much threatened one of the Leaf elders alongside one of his friends. Further details will be added in near future chapters!

I might have overpowered Kenpachi a bit, but It will work out in the end;) personally I tought I could've done better with the infiltration mission, especially since it was a bit on the short side but Meh not gonna edit it anymore :P

Konoha-11-are-cool: HAH! WRONG! Ahum, I mean the rapping of Bee has been reduced due to him having not a lot of screen time, will be added next chapter!

The-CHibi-Master564: (both reviews): I. Love. Your. Review. At some points he has is rather lonely yeah, abandoned by his friends, havind lost Kyuubi, made new friends but lost some of them along the way as well. I personally like the Itachi and Naruto friendship a lot and I'm very unhappy that there are so few fanfiction about those two as friends. (they always make pairing with those two)

I myself am rewatching Naruto from episode one again, just because I love the anime so damn much. The sad music they have in Naruto (not shippuden) is to put it simply; perfect. Yes, Shippuden has great music as well; it just doesn't live up to for example: 'Sadness and Sorrow'.

*munching on the cookie*

Seriously: hahaha to be honest she and Naruto were initially the pairing for this story, but I decided to give you guys and girls a voting chance.

Alright one last thing!

Special thanks to Nicole-the-Shape-shifer for recommending this story to Chibi-master! I always appreciate people taking the time to pass such messages along!

Alright! Sooo many reviews! I LOVE IT!

**Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)**

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 22**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 22 – The battle for Kumogakure! ~<p>

Kakashi looked at the spot where the clone had been previous. "This is not good."

Rome agreed. "Damn, I didn't suspect they would be that fast."

Sasuke joined in, having seen as well that the clone had disappeared. "That or they have decided to move things forward a lot faster the moment Naruto got away." It was still so strange to talk about Naruto like that. The dead last who caught up to him and defeated him when he tried to betray the village.

Sasuke had to suppress a scoff at the irony. Naruto betrayed the village himself shortly after they had returned to Konoha. No one heard of him for over seven years and then suddenly he pops back up, cocky and arrogant.

"Alright we have to speed things up." Kakashi said, breaking Sasuke's train of thought.

"Also we will be entering our destination most likely while it's under heavy attack, so be prepared!" Rome added as he shouted over his shoulder.

"Let's meet up with the detachments of the other village first." Micheru concluded who had been silent for most of the trip.

xXx

Hours later.

Kumogakure was on fire. Dozens of buildings were destroyed and countless bodies filled the streets.

Naruto looked at the streets from his hiding spot. Night had come and nearly no fighting was going on in the streets, but by no means was the city conquered.

Kumo had fallen back to their second wall which they had constructed in hopes of gaining an advantage in case the Reavers actually managed to enter the city, and as of yet the defenders were still somewhat successfully holding off the invaders.

Naruto was lying in the rubble, using the rubble and a body nearby to mask himself as yet another fallen defender.

From time to time a scream would erupt or a small explosion would occur but nothing as extreme as what happened during the day. And that was a good thing, every minute the enemy wasted on regrouping was a minute gained.

He tuned back into the radio frequency that was given by one of the Kumo shinobi and softly whispered in the headset's microphone. "Sector Alpha has minor activity; they are most likely regrouping for another assault.

There was a moment of silence. "Alright, if you can, try and regroup with the rest of us at the second wall."

"Will do, Darui see you in a bit." The blonde turned off his radio again and slowly stood back up his feet. The dead body slid onto the ground and the Hunter gave it a glance before moving out.

He had to move and fast. He had lost sight of Killer Bee hours ago and he assumed he had fallen back to the second wall.

He could easily use Flash step to get to his destination but that would attract them all to the wall and he was afraid that would renew their fighting spirit.

He slowly and as silently as possible made his way to the wall which he could see in the distance.

As he hugged close to a ruined wall of one of the buildings he could hear someone softly talking.

"P-p-please, I w-want to go home."

"Well you aint going nowhere, now shut up you bitch and spread those legs!" a voice snarled.

Naruto looked at the defenses in the distance and at the two figures inside the ruined house. One was laying on the floor, a young woman with brown curled hair, who from the looks of it had taken a severe beating.

The other towered over her and was pulling down his pants.

Naruto quickly grabbed a kunai and slipped inside the house. He silently made his way up to the man and before the Reaver knew what happened, Naruto had placed a hand over his mouth and slid the man's throat with the kunai. "Nighty night…" he whispered and dropped the body to the floor.

"You alright?" he asked at the young girl who couldn't be older than 16 or 17.

She shakily stood up and rushed over, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much, sir! I'll never, never forget this!"

Naruto who stood rooted to the ground for a moment smiled gently after he regained himself. "Don't worry about it. Can you walk? We need to get to the wall."

"I-i think so." She hesitantly said as she slowly stood up, grimacing when she put some weight on one of her ankles.

Naruto walked over and placed an arm around her waist and slowly helped her out of the ruined building.

"I can wa-" her voice was cut off when Naruto place his free hand over her mouth and silenced her. He then pointed to the road in front of the building and saw a small group of Reavers scouting the place.

"We will have to wait this out." The blonde whispered to which the girl responded with a nod.

X

After having waited for ten to fifteen minutes the scouting party finally moved on and they could resume their trek through the ruined part of the village.

The fight had lasted for around 30 hours and they already had half of the village. The Hunter doubted they could turn the tide even with the reinforcements that were incoming.

He smirked and silently left the house and moved towards the wall. Yes, the odds were against them but they were doing the impossible as well. They were hurting them. Badly. Every country they gained they lost a high amount of men power as well. And that was what kept a lot of them going.

Naruto and the girl turned left and saw the large wall. There were barely any bodies

"Who's there? Is it tha 'crazy' hacka and slasher who doesn't care?" he heard someone badly rhyme.

"Yeah it's me, and for the love of Kami, stop with that ridiculous rapping of yours." Naruto shouted irritated.

"You hurt ma feelings but I don't care!" The bad Rapper sang.

Naruto ignored him and walked through the small gate who was quickly opened for them after they showed their proper identification."

"I assume you're Naruto?" he heard a familiar voice say.

He turned to his left and saw a dark skinned man with white hair looking at him with a lazy look.

Naruto nodded and walked over, he extended his hand which Darui shook. "I take it you're Darui?"

"Sumimasen, yes I'm Darui. I lead the defenses." He said as he looked Naruto up and down.

"Where's the Raikage? Shouldn't he be leading the fight?"

"He's preparing a surprise counter attack that will hopefully hurt hem badly.

Naruto thought it over. It was a good idea but the Reaver's massive amount of numbers would probably negate the attack. Darui knew it as well. The man may appear lazy but he wasn't stupid.

Naruto sat down and leaned against a wooden stand, the countless hours of fighting had really tired him out. "I'm going to take a small nap just punch me or something when there's trouble"

"Yo yo! Naru-" Killer Bee started but was cut off when he got tackled by Darui.

"Sumimasen, but Naruto is already asleep, so be quiet."

"_Mister? What's going on?"_

_He looked down at the boy with cold calculated eyes, his hands slowly reaching for his kunai pouch._

"_Stay away from my son! Please just let him leave! Let me take his place!" a middle aged man pleaded as he tried to crawl over._

"_What you fail to understand is," He said as he grabbed one of the kunai. "That no one leaves this village alive."_

_With one quick motion he pierced the man's heart and quickly ended the young boy's life as well._

_"NOOO! You monster!" the man screamed weakly as he slowly closed his eyes, his life fading fast, but not fast enough to avoid seeing his own son die._

_Ghost could only wince and watch the lifeless bodies. "This isn't right…" he whispered._

_"__Ghost, are you finished with your part because I got some idiots who are actually trying to put up a fight and they are causing a distraction for the others to run away."_

"Sir?"

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and saw the girl he saved earlier crouched in front of him. "I never got your name…? he asked while yawning.

"My name's Rae, You're Naruto right?" the brown haired girl asked.

Naruto nodded while he slowly stood up. "I take it you're a Chunin?" The blonde asked whil he slowly started walking towards the gate.

"Yeah, for a month now." She answered as she followed him.

"If I were you I'd make a run for it, get out of the village while you still can."

Rae stopped walking and looked at him with confusion. "You want me to abandon my fellow shinobi? My friends?"

Naruto stopped as well and turned halfway. "The village is done for, as well as every inhabitant in it. The enemy outside has a force two times the size your country had before the fight started."

"I'm not leaving! Even talking about this could be considered treason!" she hissed while she looked at him with angry eyes.

Naruto turned around and continued walking. "Then you will die."

Rae didn't listen and marched off.

Naruto shook his head and was about to look for Darui when an explosion shook the earth. The blonde looked around and almost lost his footing when a second explosion took place. 'Break's over I guess.'

The hunter sprinted to the wall and was met with a handful of shinobi who were clustered together going over their battleplans. Naruto switched on his radio and tried to contact Darui. "Darui, you there?"

There was a moment of silence before he heard Darui's strained voice. "I'm here; we need help at the gate, their trying to break through."

Before Naruto could respond a terrifying roar gripped his heart in fear. "No…" he whispered and looked to the sky.

Two dragons flew through the sky before landing on top of the wall, letting out another roar before one let out a large stream of fire, killing two junior shinobi.

Naruto grabbed a handful of kunai with exploding tags attached and threw it at the massive beasts. The tags exploded, causing the dragons to fly off again.

"Darui, we need Killer B here!" Naruto shouted in his mic while his eyes darted from the left to the right, trying to find the beasts.

_"_Sumimasen, Killer B is with Lord Raikage and is unable to help; you will have to hold them off until reinforcements arrive"

Before Naruto could even curse one of the creatures dove to the ground and rammed him through a building.

The blonde came to a skidding halt, eyes wide and breathing heavily. _'What the…' _he tried to stand up but fell back down.

The ground underneath him shook as one of the dragons landed in front of him.

Refusing to give in to his fear he tore his gaze away from the ground and looked in the eyes of the dragon.

The dragon looked back and slightly tilted its massive head.

Naruto spat out a mouthful of blood, "If you think I'm finished you really are one stupid beast." He then formed a couple of handsigns "Kuchi-"

"**Stop"**

Naruto looked at him with a shocked expression. "Why?" was all the Hunter asked.

The beast rose back in its full height and spread its massive wings again, preparing to fly off. **"Come to Uva tower in 14 days."**

Before Naruto could respond the dragon flew away, leaving him behind with far more questions than answers.

"Naruto, Konoha has arrived with reinforcements but they have met heavy resistance. They're at the gates. How is the situation with the dragons?"

"Solved…for the moment. I'll move to the gate."

xXx

Rome shook his head. He looked up and saw Kenpachi approaching. Never before had he seen Kenpachi on a battlefield as this. Normally he'd have one of his off tacticians lead the battle.

He formed handsigns and then gripped his right wrist with his hand. "Remember this one big guy?"

Kenpachi narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

With his free hand he aimed the palm of his hand towards Kenpachi. "Tipora…" he whispered. A small beam shot towards Kenpachi who immediately remembered the attack.

Kenpachi dodged the attack with a single flashstep only to be met with a jack hammer to the back of his head.

Hitoshi panted and coughed but straightened himself and looked at Rome who nodded. He formed a couple of hand signs and then jumped back before shouting;"Doton: Doryūdan! A dragon head appeared out of the ground and started shooting balls of mud at the Kenpachi who was standing up again.

Kenpachi in return created the Reaper's infamous 'wave' and blasted it towards attack, not only overpowering Hitoshi's attack but also blasting the Hunter away.

"Hitoshi!" Rome shouted and flickered away, trying to grab the now seemingly lifeless body of Hitoshi.

Kenpachi interfered and slammed his fist in Rome's face, causing the Hunter to crash into the ground.

Micheru who had just finished of one of the lower ranked Reavers turned to see Kia, the brother of Hitoshi lying on the ground motionless, with a concerned Mayu looking over him.

"Shikamaru! Try and contact Kumo's headquarters again, we need them to flank them from behind." Sasuke shouted as he came sprinting past the Nara who was standing close to the blonde female hunter.

"Already trying" he quickly replied, while trying to contact Kumo with his headset.

Micheru looked around and saw shinobi fighting everywhere, from Iwa survivors to Suna elite shinobi.

"Micheru, send Hawke to us, we need his help right now!" Rome's voice ringed through Micheru's headset.

Micheru widened her eyes. 'Rome never sounds this desperate.' She quickly turned around and sprinted to where she last saw Hawke. "Hawke come in!" she shouted in her headset while jumping over a fallen body.

Hawke came skidding to a halt in front of her, blocking a Holder's vicious attack. "Whats up?" he asked rather calm.

Micheru threw a kunai towards the holder who tried to dodge, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by Hawke who had grabbed his wrist.

The Holder could only roar in anger as he saw death approaching.

Hawke watched as the body dropped to the ground. "What's going on Mich?"`

"Rome needs your help; he's near the main gate!"

Hawke immediately turned serious. "Let's go"

Before they could turn, a body came crashing in, his face was almost unrecognizable due to the massive beating he had received. The man tried to desperately get back up but failed and his head sagged back down to the ground.

Micheru's eyes widened in fear when she saw it was Hitoshi, She quickly kneeled next to him. "Hitoshi! Please say something!"

"**He won't be standing up anytime soon, dear." **A demonic voice boomed through the area.

Micher gasped and slowly tore her gaze away from Hitoshi and looked at the person standing a few feet away.

Kenpachi slowly approached her, killing intent leaked out of his body.

"Y-you…" she stuttered.

Kenpachi looked at her and gave her a cold smile. **"I expected more from Hunters," **he pointed to Hitoshi. **"Worthless."**

Hawke dashed forward and tried to slam his fist in Kenpachi's face, only to hit nothing but air.

"**I should've dealt with this problem myself from the very start." **Kenpachi said as he appeared behind Micheru, his claw aimed at her exposed back.

"Chidori!" a voice shouted. A bright light erupted, along with the sound of hundreds of birds chirping at once.

Kenpachi, who had no other choice, used flashstep to evade the attack looked at the newcomer at his new spot with narrowed eyes, **"Interesting…but irrelevant." **He disappeared again and appeared behind the man.

"Finally" Rome whispered as he finally got an opening in Kenpachi's defenses. He shun shined behind Kenpachi who was about to kill the dark haired man that was Sasuke. He unsheathed his Katana and in one fluid movement made a deep gash on the Reaver's back.

He was about to follow up but was interrupted by Kenpachi's elbow. He quickly flickered away and spat out a mouth full of blood.

Sasuke used the moment to turn around and delivered a sickening blow to Kenpachi's face who stumbled backwards. He quickly followed up with a ninjutsu_. "_Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!"

A dragon made out of flames erupted and soared toward Kenpachi was unable to dodge in time and got blasted away by it.

"Don't underestimate me" Sasuke said with a smirk and was about to turn around when he got a response.

"**And you shouldn't underestimate your opponent." **Kenpachi said before appearing before Sasuke and blew him away with another wave of red chakra at point blank range.

Sasuke could only scream out in pain as he in turn soared out of sight.

Rome dashed forward, his katana clutched in his hand; he quickly used a rock as support and jumped in midair, flipping over the dangerous Reaver, trying to cut him in half while doing so.

Kenpachi slowly leaned out of the way and dodged the attack, he quickly, in one fluid motion grabbed Rome's wrist, broke it and then snatched the blade out of his hand, before kicking him away. **"Time for you to die Rome"**

Kenpachi disappeared and appeared far behind Rome, his blade pointed towards Rome's back.

Micheru who had snapped out of her daze quickly tried to grab Rome out of his flight but got blasted away by one of Kenpachi's attacks and could only watch in fear as Rome got pierced by his own blade. "Nooo!" she screamed as she desperately tried to get back up.

Kenpachi grabbed Rome by the throat and pulled him in the air. **"You were a respected opponent Rome Hiwa but to all things must come an end. And for you that time has finally come."**

"Y-y-you," Rome spat out a mouthful of blood. "S-someone w-will end y-y-your existence." He clapped his hands together. "F-Fū-ton: Reppūshō!" the attack blew the both of them away from each other. Rome landed in front of Micheru, one of his hand twitched every so often.

Micher crawled to him, she couldn't see Kenpachi anywhere. While she tried to get to Rome she also opened all friendly radio frequencies. "A-anyone l-listening in? this is Micheru Sun calling in for immediate R-reinforcements…"

All she received was static.

Rain slowly started pouring down, making the battlefield all the more horrifying and realistic.

Micheru ignored it and instead tried to contact someone again. "Is there anyone on these frequencies…" again she received no answer. "Please…" she whispered as tears streaked her face. She looked down at Rome who looked at her with one eye barely open.

"**Everyone is too busy fighting, darling." **As if to prove his point, Kenpachi pointed to Hawke who was desperately trying to defeat his new foe, casting a fearful glance towards Micheru.

Micheru swallowed in fear and cradled Rome's body. "G-go away!" Where was her mom when she needed her the most!

Two Iwa survivors appeared, trying to catch the Reaver by surprise, only to be killed seconds later.

Kenpachi, who had grabbed his own sword prepared the killing blow, a cold smile crossed his scarred face.

Micheru looked up, in his eyes and what she saw was pure and utter horror.

"**Today you finally get to die. You've been an annoyance for too long, Rome." **Kenpachi barely even acknowledged Micher as a threat, and was about to cut the two of them in half when suddenly a sharp whistle halted Kenpachi's final blow and he looked up towards where the noise came from.

A couple of feet away stood a young man with blonde spikey hair dressed in a hunter's outfit. He walked over, relaxed, with his katana in its sheath lying over his right shoulder, while having it loosely grasped.

"**Don't interfere if you want to live a little while longer."**

Naruto chuckled. "I think you'll want to face me instead of Rome." He glanced around him; the battle for Kumo was in full swing. They were fighting on the walls and in the streets while the wounded desperately tried to head for safety

Kenpachi looked at him with narrowed eyes and that was all Naruto needed.

He disappeared with a flashstep and grabbed Rome and Micheru from the floor before disappearing with another flashstep.

When they arrived at their destination he softly laid them on the ground at Konoha's rallypoint. "It's time for you to head home. I'll make sure you guys can escape." Naruto said with a small smile.

"You can't be serious, you won't stand a chance!" Micheru whispered. She grabbed his hand, refusing to let him go.

"He's not going to stop until his heartbeat stops." He stood back up and turned around to Kenpachi who had followed them.

"**Rome is mine, leave now so that you may live for another couple of days."**

"You know, remember your son? Kane was it? Yea, I killed him. So who do you want to take down...some bald guy who only halted your previous invasion, or me," he pointed to himself." The guy who killed your offspring"

Kenpachi's eyes darted from Rome to Naruto before giving him a single nod. **"So be it."**

Naruto looked down at his hand and focused on his demonic chakra. Dark red swirls appeared around his claw encased hand, then slowly a dark glow appeared and his hand changed into that of a demon. **"Bring it on." **He motioned with his claw.

The Reaver and the Hunter disappeared and reappeared on top of the mostly destroyed wall, Kenpachi blocked Naruto's attack while the latter already formed a Rasengan in his hand and aimed it at the Reaver's head.

Kenpachi twirled around the attack and aimed for Naruto's exposed back, only to have it blocked by the back of Naruto's claw.

Giving Kenpachi not a second to counter, Naruto kneed his opponent in the stomach and was about to use that momentum to cleave the Reaver in half.

Only to scream in pain as Kenpachi made a wild but accurate slash with his own claw, making a deep gash across Naruto's chest.

He tried to ignore the pain and continued to exchange blows with Kenpachi who was showing only a minor form of exhaustion due to having fought multiple opponents the whole time.

Kenpachi tried a high kick, only to for Naruto to grab the limb and with some effort threw the Leader of the Reavers to the other side of the wall.

He quickly grabbed his katana from the ground and jumped after him, hoping to pierce the man's body while he was in midflight.

He slammed the tip of the blade down and for once he knew he could strike a serious blow.

Kenpachi saw the attack coming but couldn't twist his in time so he instead grabbed the incoming blade with his claw and limited the damage to the point that only the tip of the blade pierced his chest.

Naruto cursed and now knew he was open to a counter attack as well. He wasn't disappointed. His still outstretched arm got grabbed and got thrown away, down the wall.

Naruto flipped and landed on his feet but Kenpachi gave him no time to catch his breath and slammed his fist in Naruto's jaw, causing the blonde to be slammed in the wall.

Naruto slowly looked up and saw a couple of throwing knifes coming his way and quickly jumped out the way, he managed to get his footing and formed a couple of hand signs,** "Futo-" **but before he could finish his jutsu he was was cut off by Kenapchi who had landed right in front of him and jack hammered him into the ground.

"**Kuso!" ** Naruto cursed and used flash step to catch his breath. He had various cuts across his face and blood seeped out of it and down his face. His clothing was already damaged at multiple places and started to expose his upper body.

Naruto looked to where Micheru and Rome were and saw with relief that they were long gone. He slowly grabbed his katana from the ground and looked at his slowly approaching opponent.

Naruto sighed and looked Kenpachi straight in his eyes. **"What are you waiting for big guy?"**

Kenpachi tilted his head; he increased his killer intent and slowly step by step approached Naruto.

'_It was like he was looking at the Shinigami itself.' _Naruto gasped. **"You made a deal with the Shinigami didn't you?" **finally coming to the realization that Kenpachi could have somehow contacted the Shinigami, that would explain how he got a demon and the eyes of death itself. The Yondaime and Sandaime did something similar but summoned the Shinigami in a sick and twisted way. Kenpachi could have done something along those lines as well.

Kenpachi said nothing and dashed forward, he slammed is blade into Naruto's and before the Hunter could even comprehend what happened next Kenpachi had already gashed open the right side of Naruto's face with his demonic claw

Naruto fell to his knees, clutching the right side of his face. His demonic chakra dissipated.

"**Retribution." **Was all Kenpachi said as he grabbed the Hunter by his throat and pulled him in the air.

The heavy rain hit him in the face and all he could do was gaze in Kenpachi's eyes, not even having the energy to move his arms.

Kenpachi let out a massive amount of killer intent before he blasted the blonde Hunter away with his red chakra.

Naruto flew through the air; everything was nothing but a daze to him. He landed lifeless onto the ground, not having the energy to get back up. His mouth was filled with blood and slowly oozed down his chin.

He tried to look but around but only was able to see with his left eye. Slowly with a shaking hand he reached for his right side of his face but collapsed his hand when he felt a sharp sting of pain around his face.

"Looky here! A Hunter! And it seems he's still alive"Naruto heard someone say and before he knew what happened he was kicked away and rolled on his side.

"Kill him already, would ya! The village is destroyed, their reinforcements as well, I want to head back to the camp and get me a nice lady!"

Naruto knew that no one would safe him so he placed his hands on the ground. "C-c-chakra…P-p-push" he instantly got blasted away and into an alley which was mostly filled with debris. With almost no chakra left and the loss of a lot of blood he slipped into unconsciousness.

xXx

Micheru and the others came to a halt close to the border of Shimo no Kuni. Here they had set up encampments and were treating the wounded.

Micheru was aimlessly walking through the camp and her only thought on her mind was how she had left Naruto behind. Kumo had fallen; the Raikage and his supposed counter attack also had failed utterly and probably lost most of his men.

Konoha had sent a lot of men along with Iwa survivors and Suna Shinobi, but they were still outnumbered and they quickly came to the conclusion that if they kept sending men to lost causes it would severely hurt them in the end. A decision to retreat was made quickly, leaving behind Kumogakure.

"Micheru!" the attractive blonde looked up and saw Hawke approaching.

She gave him a nod as acknowledgement but didn't respond in any other way.

"I know you feel bad but Naruto made his decision," he laid a hand on her shoulder and looked in her eyes. "He'll make it. We still have the Akatsuki harassing them so don't worry."

"We lost Hitoshi and Kia is in a coma! Rome won't be lasting the night and Naruto is probably dead!" she cried hysterically. "Don't you dare to tell me I shouldn't worry!" she slapped his hand away and marched off.

Mayu sadly looked at Rome who was barely breathing. She had tried everything she could but his lungs were punctured and he had massive internal bleeding. He most likely wasn't going to make it and that broke her heart in two.

She heard footsteps approaching and looked up. She saw Micheru standing in the opening of the tent with a tear stained face.

"I'm going back." Her daughter said resolutely.

"Like hell you are!" Mayu hissed and stood up. "We already lost too much; I refuse to let you go!"

"It's not up for debate. Mom! Stop treating me like your daughter and start treating me like a Hunter!"

She was about to respond, saying she never treated her like that, and though she was her daughter, she was also a Hunter and treated her like she treated everyone else.

But she couldn't, because she did treat her like her daughter most of the time. "It's…not that. Going back is suicide. Even if you weren't my daughter then I'd still not let you go because back there is nothing."

"Naruto could still be alive!" Micheru shouted with a furious look on her face.

"If he is, he'll use Flash step to meet up with us. Now this discussion is over." Mayu said with finality in her voice, ending the conversation.

The young blond hunter wanted to continue but decided against it and marched out

xXx

Naruto slowly regained consciousness and the first thing he noticed that although he was freezing because of the rain, the wound on his chest and face were throbbing, causing agonizing pain. He could barely move and couldn't help but feel utterly helpless. He tried anyways.

He slowly, with the help of the wall next to him got to his feet, only to collapse seconds later.

"Who's there?" he heard a female voice say with a slight quivering voice.

"Naruto looked around with his impaired sight but didn't see anyone. "W-Where are you?" he whispered with a hoarse voice.

He heard someone crawling to him and a soft gasp.

"Naruto!" he heard someone whisper.

He looked around but couldn't see anyone. He reached out with his hand and felt someone grasp it. "W-who are y-you" he whispered again before coughing up a lot of blood. He closed his eyes and wanted to slip into the darkness again but someone didn't let him.

He felt his head being lifted in the air before softly being placed on something comfortable and warm. With a lot of effort he opened his eyelids. He still couldn't see from his right eye but what he saw made him smile.

"H-hey, Hinata…" he said and realized he was resting on her lap.

"Naruto-kun, what happened to your right eye?!" she whispered and gently touched his face, causing him to wince

He felt himself slowly slipping away again but he tried to respond nonetheless. "I t-take it there's s-something wrong -ith it?"

Hinata looked away for a moment before she gave him a sad look. "It's…it's gone"

Naruto didn't respond and instead welcomed the darkness. _'Kuso…'_

* * *

><p>Dayaaaaamn people am I bastard or whaaat?<p>

I'm sorry for that cheesy Hinata insertion here and at first I wanted to add Rae, the girl Naruto saved earlier but decided to go for Hinata instead.

Next chapter will be relatively short but that will also mean that the update will come faster this time ;)

Until next time peeps and don't forget to review!


	23. Chapter 23: Sneaking around

Heyas peopleeeee!

Im going to keep it short since I have nothing really to put here actually so I'm just going to respond to the badass reviewers! :D :P

Reviewers:

Kairi-kun: then I hope you'll love this one as well!

Dyingaswespeak2: Welcome to I will become a ghost! I hope by now you're up to date so you can enjoy this chapter!

Asheza: I was going to add Pein but there were already so many characters in this fight and I always have some difficulty describing each battle for each character, since there are so many obviously :P

But thanks for the review, It helps me where I should improve and where I should keep it as is it!

Adam218: already responded to your review so I'm going to /ignore you for now :D looking forward to your next review though ;)

CupCats: I don't understand how writer's on FF can give Naruto such an easy turnaround ya know? Like: "Oh I hate Konoha they should all die!"

Ten chapters later; "Oh I love Konoha, love, love, love!" It really disappoints me.

Pyrophoricity: writing battles is easily my favority part in this story, it's so easy and ideas just pop up in my head and I immediately write it down and see if it fits in.

Anyways here's the next chap, enjoy!

Trigun: Triiiguuuun! Glad to hear you liked Hinata's entry. Yes from now on she'll appear a lot more frequently but I'll keep it limited enough so I can add in more of Kakashi's pov which I'll be going more in-depth about.

As I said to Pyro, I Love writing fight scenes Weee! *ahum* anyways, Kenpachi being slightly overpowered is not really an issue. I mentioned it some chapters back that I already have the final battle all written out and only needs slight adjustments.

That said, it's still ways off, don't worry about it ;) now! Enjoy this chapter, I order you!

Paracuties: yeshh, this is Naruhina ( I recently added it to the summary) and their interaction is slowly increasing from now on.

I myself am not a huge NaruHina fan, unless it's written correctly, not like:

"Naruto walks across the street and sees Hinata approaching. The last time he saw her was before he left with Jiraiya on his training trip for three years. _'She's really cute, how did I not recognize this? I should really ask her out'_

You understand what I mean? It's so freaking ridiculous.

Alright a big thanks for everyone who reviewed/favorite/added it to their alerts etc .etc .etc.

You all rock!

Disclaimer: If I owned the story I would've made Naruto a super badass! But unfortunately I don't own Naruto; I just borrow the Naruto universe for entertaining purposes ;)

**I Will Become a Ghost Chapter 23**

* * *

><p>~Chapter 23 - Sneaking around~<p>

"bakayaro! konoyaro!" Bee shouted and pierced two Reavers with his two blades simultaneously. He turned and with a weird form of elegancy danced around the battlefield, killing numerous lower ranked Reavers.

"**You are really something else."**

Killer Bee stopped and tilted his head slightly; he pointed to the newly arrived Holder and grinned. "Yo Yo you have a strange voice I doubt that was your choice ya know!" Killer Bee rapped badly before writing it down in his small book.

The Holder who was done with Bee's ridiculous rhymes charged forward, fist pumped back, ready to give the Jinchuriki the beating of a lifetime.

"I'm the eight tails! I sting like a Bee!" the rapper charged forward and tried to ram one of his blades in the Holder's eye socket.

The Reaver dodged it in time and tried to catch Killer Bee in the counter but had to side step the second blade.

"You forget the most important thing, Bakayaro! Konoyaro! and that is I'm the eight tails with some special tools. Bee mentally shook his head for the bad conclusion of his rhyme.

A tentacle erupted from his back and slammed the Holder away but before the Reaver could actually start its flight he was grabbed by one of his legs and was swung around like a puppet before being rammed in the ground, Bee's blade already piercing the man's chest.

"No one messes with the Eight Tails, Wheee!" he shouted before charging off again.

xXx

Killer Bee had lost all sense of humor the moment he saw how bad the situation actually was.

He used five of his tentacles and slammed around, sending Reavers flying. He knew that Kumo was already as good as fallen but that didn't stop Kumo from fighting to the very last man.

"Ranton: Reizā Sākasu!" several thin beams shot forward, hitting several Reavers and blasting them away. He swiped the sweat of his forehead before grabbing his blade from the ground and dashed forward.

'_This is a drab situation.' _Darui thought to himself. The Raikage had gone and tried for a massive counter attack, and at first it seemed that it was going well. The Reavers were completely taken by surprise and had taken a lot of casualties, a lot of the deaths were caused by the Raikage who could almost match the speed of their flash step and that had caught even more confusion.

However eventually the Reavers regrouped and used their sheer numbers to overwhelm the Raikage's assault force, killing a lot of them.

The fighting which had at first dimmed down in the city due to the counter attack, was now again in full swing and people were literally fighting anywhere. From one of the squares in the city, to small ruined buildings and even small alleyways where there was almost no room for maneuverability.

Although the morale was low, the Raikage had managed to boost their fighting spirit earlier.

Flashback, couple of hours ago.

Darui and Killer Bee, along with Bee's old students were fighting on the market square of Kumogakure. The second wall had fallen and it seemed that there was absolutely no chance in hell they we're going to survive this.

A high pitched sound filled the air before they heard someone roar through several speakers. "To all remaining shinobi in Kumogakure! This is the Raikage speaking. I know the fight is going badly and even though we took a lot of them down, there are still too many of them left."

A's voice boomed through the area. "But we can't give up! We have to keep fighting to protect the civillians! Show to me that you are true shinobi! Retreat is not on option, fight to your dying breath!"

What caught them by surprise the most was when suddenly music filled the air.

It was Killer Bee's rapping.

The mass of Kumo shinobi shouted in agreement and cheered before charging forward with new resolve, getting the Reavers by surprise.

End flashback

xXx

Evening after the battle of Kumogakure.

Naruto leaned against the wall, panting heavily. Hinata had gone ahead to check if it was all clear to cross a small road.

He looked down and saw a small mirror lying on the ground, with a grunt he reached for it and held it in front of his face and what he saw confirmed what Hinata already told him.

His right eye was gone. A large gash crossed his eye and down his cheekbone. Blood kept seeping out of his socket. He suppressed a groan and slowly tried to close his right eye lid, which caused a lot of pain.

"F-fuck it." He whispered. He slowly tried to stand up but was quickly stopped by Hinata.

"Would you stop that?" she swung his arm around her neck and slowly dragged him across the small street. "I haven't seen a single person yet. Which is strange, I would've expected them to strip the town of all its resources."

Naruto didn't respond and just kept glancing from the left to the right.

They continued sneaking through the mostly destroyed city, stopping every so often thinking they heard something.

"We have to keep going, Naruto how are you holding up?" The Hyuuga asked giving him worrying look. They had stopped for a moment in one of the many alleys.

Naruto wanted to respond saying he was fine but he just couldn't exhaustion and the pain, accompanied with the loss of blood he just was unable to talk. Instead he gave a weak smile.

Before Hinata could respond they could hear voices.

"-It's ridiculous we're giving this to some fucking shinobi just because their leader are helping us out…I mean, He should feel lucky he's still alive" They heard someone say.

"Yeah well, fuck it. Doesn't matter anyways, we'll be regrouping and shit here for a while anyways. They really did defend this place to the last man." Someone else said with a chuckle.

Naruto felt his legs slowly giving in to the exhaustion and slowly slipped out of Hinata's grasp. They were going to die and that was the end of it. Kenpachi was going to win and they had lost. This was it.

"Naruto?!" she whispered as she saw him sag to the ground. "Naruto, you have to stop! You need to calm down, you're hyperventilating!"

Naruto took deep steady breaths. His vision became darker and his head rolled from the left to the right. "H-Hinata…You need to get out of h-here…" he said taking ragged breaths.

"Stop talking nonsense, we're both going home!" she hissed while she looked around the corner. The Reavers had left.

He coughed up another mouthful of blood. "Look…at me…I'm a mess, I-I'll only slow you down, get the hell out of here now!"

"**What have we here?" **a sound echoed through the alley.

Naruto saw Hinata's eyes widen in fear and slowly turned around.

"You w-want me!" Naruto said between gritted teeth.

"Naruto shut up, please!"

"**What are you talking about?" the Holder asked, looking at the wounded Hunter.**

"You know I'm a Hunter. H-Hunter Ghost to be more s-specific, I killed Kenpachi's son…" Naruto said as he slowly pushed himself on his feet, almost falling face first in the ground "Y-you think your leader wants his son's k-killer dead?"

Hinata looked at him with pleading eyes; she already knew what he was planning. He was going to sacrifice himself in the hopes of getting her out alive.

The holder looked at him with narrowed eyes. **"What are you aiming at, Hunter?"**

Naruto reached for a kunai and held it at his own throat. "If you let the girl go I'll c-come with you, but if y-you don't I'll kill myself right here and Kenpachi won't get his v-vengeance."

The Holder opened his mouth to respond. But instead of words, blood trickled out his mouth. Before Hinata or Naruto could even look at one another the Holder dropped to the ground.

Behind the Holder stood Itachi, holding a bloodied kunai, "You aren't looking too good Naruto-kun."

Naruto tried to smirk but instead grimaced. "D-don't…want to talk about it."

Itachi walked over and crouched in front of the blonde. "Kenpachi did a number on you," Itachi glanced over his shoulder. It would only be a matter of time before they would start to wonder why the Holder hadn't checked in yet. "Can you walk?"

Naruto was completely drained. The fight had not only beaten him physically but emotionally as well. He shook his head.

Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yes you can."

Naruto just shook his head again, blood dripped on his ruined outfit.

Itachi grabbed him by the chin and forced the blonde to look at him. Naruto in return avoided his gaze. "He's out of it," Itachi sighed and stood up.

"We can't stay here, they will find out soon" Hinata softly said as she looked at Naruto who was barely even paying attention.

Itachi nodded and grabbed Naruto by the wrist and started carrying him.

xXx

Kakashi looked at Neji with a concerned look. When Neji heard about Hinata he immediately tried to mount a rescue operation. His request got denied.

Shikamaru had ultimately decided that retreat was the best option, and that a counterattack or infiltration would be suicidal.

Sasuke had relayed the message to everyone. He also got the brunt of Neji's rage.

"I don't care about Shikamaru's orders! I'm going back there with or without your help."

"Neji you aren't thinking straight! Your feelings are clouding your judgement." Sasuke tried to reason,

Neji narrowed his eyes in anger. "Like you're one to say!" he spat. "You went running off because of it."

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond but he found it he couldn't, instead he turned away for a moment. Neji was right; he had no right to say something. But that didn't mean he was going to let him go.

Kakashi knew Sasuke could handle it so he grabbed his orange book and pretended to start reading while his thoughts drifted off.

Flashback, four months and 8 days after Naruto's betrayal.

Kakashi dashed through the forest, Tsunade had informed them that Naruto was seen by one of her informants, saying that a fight had taken place there.

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to see if Sakura and the others were still able to keep up.

Sakura had a sad and doubtful look on her face. Apparently she hadn't forgotten what she had said to Naruto.

Beside her all of the rookies were assigned on this task, except for Sasuke who had still been under close guard of one of the Anbu.

Along with the Rookies, all their Senseis were tagging along as well. They didn't know what to expect from the blonde and had to take precautions, just in case.

"We're approaching the bridge." Kurenai pointed out as she nodded towards the bridge which was slowly becoming visibly as the forest finally cleared.

Kakashi gave a single nod. "Alright, don't attack him, just leave it to us, you're only here to try and talk him into getting back, understood?"

He received a several 'Hai's' and with that he turned his attention back in front of him.

After a couple of minutes they arrived at the other side of the bridge and what they noticed were the body bags lying next to the bridge.

"What happened here?" Chouji asked as he looked at the body bags.

"It must have something to do with the fight that was mentioned." Asuma pointed out, while he took a drag from his cigarette.

"And you would be correct." A voice said.

They all turned their attention to the newcomer who turned out to be a middle aged man with a hat.

"What exactly happened here?" Kurenai said as she butted in, grabbing Asuma's cigarette and threw it on the ground, getting a grunt from the chain smoker as a response.

"It was just like any other day, people doing their groceries," he sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "That was until two random guys showed up and started killing everyone, unknown what they exactly wanted."

"What happened then?" Sakura asked, she had taken a real liking towards the small town after their assignment they had here.

The man started smiling. "A random shinobi just popped up and defeated them!" he knew that they were Konoha shinobi, he wasn't dumb. Naruto had saved their village twice now, and he was going to repay him by keeping them off his tracks.

"A random shinobi? What did he look like?"

The man seemed to think about that for a moment. "I guess average height, brown hair, kinda spiky though."

The Rookies seemed disappointed but Kakashi looked at him with a calculated eye, apparently thinking things over "It could be henge."

Asuma and Kurenai nodded in agreement.

Shikamaru looked lazily at Ino. "Could you?" he asked.

Ino nodded with a small smirk and used her signature jutsu to enter the man's mind.

"Maa, Shikamaru, say if you're going to do that next time." Kakashi said, feigning annoyance.

Moments later Ino woke up again and gave cocky smile. "Naruto was here, the man's been lying to get us off his trail."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Not very nice, now…Why would you do that?"

The man sneered, but said nothing.

"That's because Naruto asked them to help keep his stay here a secret, and they all agreed." Ino answered for the man.

"You little brat!" the man shouted. "What did you do to me?!"

A small tick appeared on her forehead. "Who are you calling a brat? You disgusting pervert! You're having very disgusting thoughts about Kurenai-sensei!"

The man's face turned bright red and marched off, muttering about freaks and mind readers.

Asuma's left eye twitched and was about to run after the man but decided against it when Kurenai shook her head.

"What's our next plan of action?" Shino silently asked.

"We should check out with Tazuna, whoever that is…I saw that name floating around a lot." Ino mused.

"Tazuna, was the man we were supposed to protect on our first mission out of Konoha. It was a C ranked mission turned A rank."

"It makes sense Naruto would've gone to them, they were really nice to us!" Sakure exclaimed and was already making her way to the house.

xXx

While they were on their way to Tazuna's house, Kakashi had summoned his Ninken and started trying to find his scent.

"There it is!" Sakura shouted and ran over, knocking on the door when she got there.

The door opened, revealing an attractive woman, better known as Tsunami. Immediately after noticing who were standing at the door she scowled. "Tazuna they're here!"

They could hear some noise in the background and moments later an older man appeared in front of them.

"Tazuna, it's good to see you again. " Kakashi said with a smile.

Tazuna glared at the man. "I don't have anything to say to you, why don't you get the hell away from here, eh?"

Kakashi widened his eyes slightly. "I guess you've heard?"

"Of course we heard! He told us and we gave him a place to stay here and he accepted."

"Where is he now?" Asuma asked, looking at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes.

"I don't know, and even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you disgusting bunch. Now get the hell out of here."

"Wait, we have to check your house," Kurenai said before turning to the rookies. "Hinata?"

Hinata gave a resolute nod. "Byakugan!" With her Kekkei genkai she quickly checked the house but found nothing. She sadly shook her head.

"How long has he been gone?" Kakashi asked, not caring that the older man was on the edge of exploding.

"Go to hell, I can't believe you actually betrayed your own student." Tazuna spat before slamming the door in their faces.

The silver haired jounin looked to the ground for a moment, lost in thought for a moment.

"What now? Scout the area?" Shikamaru asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "My summons would've found his scent by now. It either means he's been gone for days or the rain has washed it away. _'Damnit Naruto, you've really done it this time…I'm sorry Sensei'_

Kurenai looked at him with a slight confused look. "You mean we're going back already?"

Kakashi looked up in the air. "We'll stay here for a short time, everyone, take a look around the village and report back at the bridge in two hours.

Everyone split up in small groups, Kurenai going with her students while Asuma went to get some cigarettes.

Kakashi who was lost in thoughts continued to wander around. _'I had a moment of weakness and that may have cost me more than I can handle. I never actually considered trading him for another student…It doesn't matter, Naruto left because of the Chakra seal and not of my wrong doings.'_

He noticed he had stumbled upon Zabuza and Haku's grave. What he noticed was that the flowers that were placed upon their graves were relatively fresh.

He reached and grabbed the flowers, which were wet from the rain from earlier. _'No one would actually visit their graves would they? Perhaps Tazuna and his family would have…But the village? No…Naruto did this.'_

He looked back up and suddenly noticed a small picture. He grabbed it and what he saw made him smile.

It was the picture of their old team. He turned it over and something scribbled on the back.

"It's weird to miss someone who was out to kill you…Thank you for everything, Zabuza, Haku. You thought me what it means to be a shinobi.

Naruto

Kakashi laid the picture back down. He stood back up and decided to get a bouquet of flowers as well but was interrupted by Pakkun who had landed on the ground behind him. "You found anything?"

The dog nodded. "It's very faint, but I've detected Naruto's scent around fifteen miles from here across the bridge. That's why it took so long."

Kakashi crouched down and scratched the dog. _'So we found him.' _He couldn't help but flash back to his days in Anbu where he had the task from watching over little Naruto from time to time.

The beatings and hatred he received was sickening. And how the the blonde kid had survived those years were still beyond him.

Kakashi tilted his head. Now that he thought about it, the blonde Genin never seemed to have much luck at all. The hatred never stopped, only the beating. And that had been replaced by ruining his apartment; they only did that because he could now fight back instead of lie down and accept it.

The jounin sighed. _'Even after all that he still tried to earn the respect of the villagers. But then the Council was out to get him, without the support of the Hokage.'_

"Chakra seal…" he whispered, earning him a confusing look from the Ninken.

'_Everyone abandoned you…I can understand now why you left, Uzumaki Naruto.' _Kakashi stood back up.

"You want me to gather the others?" Pakkung asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "No…You can go home and rest, you've done enough."

"You need my help if you want to catch up to the kid, you know that." The dog answered, walking around the Silver haired jounin in circles.

"We're not going after him. We're going back home." Kakashi said as he walked back to the village.

"I see…Well, I guess my work here is done."

Kakashi glanced towards the dog. "Thanks for the help."

"Can you scratch my ear? No? Okay take care." And with that the dog dispelled.

"You earned a break, Naruto, but I do hope you know what you're doing." Kakashi muttered.

* * *

><p>I guess you guys didn't see that one coming huh? I hope you enjoyed it and if you did don't forget to review!<p>

Cya all next time!


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